Brexit: Biotech looks to Switzerland for a new strategy

Nine months after the historic referendum in which the UK population voted to leave the European Union, the UK government has at last served notice to quit.
Theresa May yesterday signed the letter that will formally begin the UK’s departure from the European Union, starting a process which will eventually make clear how the country will trade with the EU and the rest of the world.

Since the Brexit vote last summer, the UK life sciences sector have been seeking answers as how it can trade and collaborate with Europe, and continue to flourish as a centre for science and innovation.

Amid all the complexities, drug regulation, trade arrangements, R&D collaboration and regulation, and retaining an international workforce are at the top of the sector’s list of priorities.

One country with obvious parallels with a post-Brexit Britain, especially in life sciences, is Switzerland. Now the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) is leading a delegation to see if it can garner any useful clues to its own future from the country.

Switzerland is definitely a success story in pharma terms – having two global giants Novartis and Roche in Basel, and attracting much foreign pharma and biotech investment because of its low tax base.

Crucial to this is how the UK will approve and regulate drugs. While the European Medicines Agency looks almost certain to leave London, it’s not clear whether or not the UK must sever all links with its pan-European marketing authorisation system. This clearly makes the country the most obvious model for a post-Brexit life sciences sector – with many believing that the UK can thrive outside the EU just as Switzerland does.

The BIA says the delegation is a “discovery trip” and to understand better how Switzerland works with Europe but outside of the European Union, and also to forge new relationships and explore potential opportunities.

BIA has already forged new links with Canada and is keen to build further bilateral relationships that will help to strengthen the sector during negotiations with the EU and for when Brexit happens.

BIA CEO, Steve Bates, said: “At this time of Brexit, it’s important that the UK takes a positive outlook towards the future of the sector in the UK and how we will continue to work with Europe. Exploring the sector in Switzerland will help the UK to learn lessons that could help support the negotiations process over the next two years.”

Access to Horizon 2020 and other EU research programs is one concern. U.K. researchers receive billions of pounds in funding and opportunities to collaborate with their peers on the mainland through the schemes. With access to EU funds now threatened, the U.K. government has sought to allay researchers’ fears by underwriting pre-Brexit Horizon 2020 grants after it leaves the EU.

The government wants to enable continued collaboration, but the outcome is uncertain. If the U.K. loses access to Horizon 2020, universities may establish outposts on mainland Europe to stay in the scheme, contributing to a brain drain as top-tier academics relocate to further their research.