• More than 50% of surveyed healthcare industry professionals from Europe believe that Brexit allowed the UK to accelerate its COVID-19 vaccines approval process
• 31% of respondents from the UK highlighted that the UK’s departure from the bloc did not influence the fast-tracked authorization of COVID-19 vaccines

While the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine approval was commenced in accordance with the EU’s legislations, which allow any EU member to grant temporary authorization for a medicinal product in domestic markets, faster approval of the vaccine showcased the UK’s keenness to get its troubled economy moving again and position its Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency as an agile regulator, says GlobalData a leading data and analytics company.

Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research at GlobalData, comments: “Even though other EU countries were able to use their own regulators to issue temporary authorization for Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, the same way as Britain did, the bloc members were encouraged to wait for the European Medicine Agency to grant approval first in order to follow a common vaccination deployment strategy.”

According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS), the UK has recorded negative GDP growth continuously for last four quarters in 2020. February’s 2021 GDP is 7.8% below the levels seen in February 2020.

Jakimaviciute continues: “The UK economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite fast approvals of Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines and a rather successful vaccination program, the pathway and speed of economic recovery remains fragile due to new strains of the virus emerging and post-Brexit uncertainty looming. Even small delays in vaccine approval and rollout can make a big difference in attempts to get back to normal and kickstart economic growth, therefore, it is not a surprise to see the UK pushing on with speedy authorization and administration of the vaccines.”

For businesses, Brexit means increased bureaucratic burden as additional customs documentation and clearance are needed for the goods moving between the EU and the UK. According to the UK’s ONS, the value of goods exported from the UK to the EU fell by £5.6bn in January 2021 while imports from the EU dropped by £6.6bn, with the pharmaceutical sector being one of the most affected.

Jakimaviciute adds: “Supply chain disruptions have been long highlighted as the biggest concern related to Brexit. The UK’s fast approval of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine may be seen as a strategic move, as it assured more efficient import of this EU-manufactured vaccine – at least initially avoiding any of the expected post-Brexit-imposed border delays or disruptions.”

In March 2021, the EU strengthened its regulations on exporting COVID-19 vaccines, giving rights to its members to block shipments to countries with better epidemiological situation, higher vaccination rate and greater availability or access to vaccines.

Jakimaviciute concludes: “Even in January 2021 – less than one month after Brexit – the EU announced that it would introduce export controls on vaccines entering Northern Ireland (NI) in a bid to prevent the region becoming a backdoor for vaccines to be sent to the UK mainland. Although the EU backtracked on vaccine controls for NI (following disapproval expressed by the UK, NI and the Republic of Ireland), this does not prevent similar situations occurring in the future – especially with the EU tightening COVID-19 vaccine export controls.”