EU Falsified Medicines Directive ‘Not Working’ In Northern Ireland

Industry representatives told a House of Lords committee about continuing Brexit-related problems such as the extra work involved in checking compliance with the EU Falsified Medicines Directive and the drawbacks of a proposed “dual regulatory regime.”

Brexit chess strategy concept
Brexit-related changes are still causing problems for the pharma sector • Source: Shutterstock

The EU’s Falsified Medicines Directive is causing wholesalers a lot of extra work in Northern Ireland in terms of verifying that the products they distribute there are fully compliant with the directive, and in some cases decommissioning packs from the EU medicines verification system, according to Martin Sawer, executive director of the Healthcare Distribution Association.

Under post-Brexit arrangements, Northern Ireland is the only country of the UK where the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) applies. “As...

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