Adversity in childhood: how the past defines the future.
For more on the Flying Start programme see http:/gov. wales/topics/people andcommunities/people/childrenand young people/ parenting support guidance/ help/flyingstart/?lang=en The latest warning of the negative outcomes of Brexit on the UK's life sciences sector (medicines, therapies, and biotechnologies) came from a report published last week by the UK think tank, Public Policy Projects. The report highlights the challenges from a regulatory, funding, and patient access to new medicines perspective under diff erent Brexit scenarios. The authors conclude that if the UK were to sever ties with Europe fully ie, fragmentation of the current centralised regulatory and authorisation structures (the European Medicines Authority [EMA] and the Medical and Healthcare Regulatory Agency) and restrict free movement of the sector's talented European Union (EU) workforce, the UK will no longer be an attractive place to do business. Labelled as the "hard" Brexit option, this situation could mean patients face long delays in accessing new innovative medicines. The report favours the "soft" Brexit option in line with a Swiss model where a close relationship would exist between the UK and EMA, with continued access to the single market and EU workforce. Reduced health care spending and sterling devaluation will also have a pronounced eff ect on the ability of the National Health Service (NHS) to cover imported medicines. Will that make National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Medicines Consortium, and the like more aggressive, and hence more likely to negotiate for better prices, or will they just refuse or ration? More diffi cult to predict is the change to the level of investment in the UK life sciences industry. Pfi zer have already shut down its UK operations with 2400 jobs lost. However, there is a tight relationship between academia and industry, and that is less easily moved. That said, the possible loss of Horizon 2020 funding (EUR80 billion from 2014 20) will also hit academia hard. On Nov 23, a life sciences steering group chaired by pharma CEOs will meet with the government to outline priorities for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. On the same day, November's Autumn statement will be out, and will provide the fi rst indication of the impact of Brexit on NHS funding. The report's fi ndings are a timely warning of what is at stake. Brexit's eff ect on access to new medicines
Lancet