Impact of Brexit on Pharmaceutical Regulations and Structures

Last week, the UK voted in an advisory referendum to leave the European Union. The next steps are not yet clear, but the referendum may have significant implications for the pharmaceutical industry in the UK and for international companies operating in the UK. Its impact will very much depend on the form a post-Brexit UK will take, the relationship that the UK chooses to have with the EU, and indeed the relationship that the EU is willing to accept. That will not become clear for some time as it will likely take at least two years for the UK to negotiate an exit from the EU from the point when the UK notifies the EU of its intention to leave, which will not be until October 2016 at the earliest.