Health

EU adopts laws to ensure continued supply of medicines from Britain to NI

UK medicinal products can be placed on Irish market for three-year transitional period

As Northern Ireland receives most of its medicines from suppliers in Britain, there had been concerns their movement could be impeded when grace periods end. Photograph: iStock
As Northern Ireland receives most of its medicines from suppliers in Britain, there had been concerns their movement could be impeded when grace periods end. Photograph: iStock
Tue Apr 12 2022 - 13:35

The European Union Council has adopted legislation to ensure medicines can continue to flow unimpeded from Britain into Northern Ireland.

Under the laws, medicinal products from the UK can also be placed on the market in the Republic, as well as in Cyprus and Malta, for a transitional period of three years.

The issues surrounding medicines stem from the outworkings of the Northern Ireland protocol, a part of the Brexit deal that aims to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and which means the North remains covered by the EU's pharmaceutical regulations.

As Northern Ireland receives most of its medicines from suppliers in Britain, there had been concerns that their movement could be impeded when grace periods end.

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Instead, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic announced proposed new legislation last year to tackle the issue.

The EU Council said on Tuesday it has now adopted the directive and regulations to ensure the continued supply of medicines to Northern Ireland, as well as the Republic, Cyprus and Malta.

A statement said: “These texts will enter into force on the day of their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, which is expected in the next few days. The measures will apply retroactively from January 1 2022.

"The aim of the directive is to preserve the uninterrupted supply of medicinal products for human use in Northern Ireland after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom, under the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland.

“It will also, exceptionally and for a transitional period of three years, allow medicinal products from the United Kingdom to be placed on the market in Ireland, Malta and Cyprus under derogations from the requirement for authorisation holders to be established in the European Union.

“The regulation is closely linked to the directive and is aimed at ensuring the supply of investigational medicinal products to the same markets.”

The council said the move would “facilitate the implementation of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland on the ground”.

The EU law change will allow Britain-based pharma suppliers to maintain their current regulatory arrangements.

It will mean companies in Britain can continue to act as a hub for the supply of generic medicines to Northern Ireland, without the need to establish bases in there. – PA