The British government hopes to collaborate with the European Union on drug regulation post-Brexit, reports Reuters.
Britain's Health Minister Jeremy Hunt and Business Minister Greg Clark penned a letter to the Financial Times Monday detailing how the two countries can work together to ensure patients get access to the drugs they need.
"We will look to continue to work closely with the European Medicines Agency," they wrote in the letter. "Our overall aim is to ensure that patients in the U.K. and across the E.U. continue to be able to access the best and most innovative medicines."
The EMA — equivalent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — will likely relocate from its London headquarters once the country officially leaves the E.U. The letter offers reassurance to drug companies, a majority of which opposed Brexit. The drug industry argues the EMA's upheaval will hurt drug research and complicate or delay new drug approvals.
Drugmakers have been calling for Britain and the EMA to form a partnership after Brexit, potentially permitting the mutual recognition of drug approvals, according to the report.
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