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<p>The United Kingdom’s position on medicines regulation remains clear. We want to
retain a close working partnership with the European Union to ensure that medicines
remain available to UK patients in a safe and timely manner. We have been clear that
this involves us making sure our regulators continue to work together, as they do
with regulators internationally. As the Prime Minister has said, we intend to to explore
with the EU the terms on which the UK could remain part the European Medicines Agency.</p><p>
</p><p>Until we can be certain of the outcome of Brexit negotiations our duty as a
responsible Government is to prepare for all eventualities, including ‘no deal’. On
23 August 2018, therefore, the Department wrote to all pharmaceutical companies that
supply the United Kingdom with prescription only or pharmacy medicines from, or via,
the European Union/European Economic Area, asking them to ensure they have a minimum
of six weeks’ additional supply in the UK, over and above their business as usual
operational buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019 in the event of a no-deal scenario.</p><p>
</p><p>Since then, we have received very good engagement from industry who share our
aims of ensuring continuity of medicines supply for patients is maintained and able
to cope with any potential delays at the border that may arise in the short term in
the event of a no-deal Brexit.</p><p> </p><p>We understand that the medicine Keppra
is important to many people in this country. However, the Department recognises that
through its medicines supply contingency programme it is requesting sensitive commercial
information from pharmaceutical companies. To reassure participating companies, we
have committed to treating all information received confidentially, securely and to
using it only for the purposes of the Department’s programme. That means not introducing
information about a company, specific medicine or their supply routes into the public
domain.</p>
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