To think people are creating hysteria around brexit

[whyispeppainthenightgarden]

I keep reading post about brexit And prepping and they seem to be crazy. Why are people creating so much hysteria around this. I can’t see how it would be beneficial to other countries to let it get in the state some posters are suggesting.

I think posters advocating a "make assumptions and have faith" approach are severely lacking in ambitions. Why simply make assumptions and have faith in the supply of medicines? Let's go for making assumptions and having faith in miraculous cures for the illnesses themselves, then we won't even need the medicines.

Now that would be proper patriotic BeLeaving, not this wishy washy halfway hoping!

Finally, if you want to know whether your drug is made outside the UK, have a look at the carton and/or the leaflet inside the pack. There should be a statement at the end of the leaflet that says: "Marketing Authorisation Holder [ie license holder] Company Name & Address. Manufactured by Company Name & Address".

This is really useful, thank you!

I worked with the NAO for many years as their liaison point in an HMG department. They do not take anything at face value, they test and research everything. I know. I had to arrange their visits and access to documentary evidence. They really don't mess about. We had a statutory requirement to give them access to everything.

They only report on stuff when they have done detailed research. They also publish their research methodology so anyone/an organisation can question their methodology/sample/approach.

Quite frankly I have never known them to be wrong.

And they are our - as tax payers - indepenent auditors of how the Government has spent our cash and how it intends to spend our cash. We really should listen to them.

Indeed Janet, thus were they concerned and alarmed. Apparently they knew very little. Impressive when they've been 'working' on brexit for 2 bloody years and companies have been raising concerns throughout that time. Just another example of the contempt that many MPs feel for the electorate.

Finally, if you want to know whether your drug is made outside the UK, have a look at the carton and/or the leaflet inside the pack. There should be a statement at the end of the leaflet that says: "Marketing Authorisation Holder [ie license holder] Company Name & Address. Manufactured by Company Name & Address".

I don't know this but I'd hazard a guess that if it said "Manufactured by XYZ Pharma, Birmingham, UK" then that's just where their head office is and it could just have easily been made at XYZ Pharma's manufacturing plant in Poland.

And anyway , even if the final product was manufactured in Birmingham it wouldn't help much if all the active ingredients were made in Poland, Switzerland and France.

Just a thought.

I don't know this but I'd hazard a guess that if it said "Manufactured by XYZ Pharma, Birmingham, UK" then that's just where their head office is and it could just have easily been made at XYZ Pharma's manufacturing plant in Poland the rules are that the manufacturer responsible for batch release has to be listed, if different from the head office/ license holder. So in your case, yes the tablets could have been made in Poland, but the final packaging/testing/release done in Birmingham. It’s not a perfect guide to where things are made, but it’s a start.

It’s not just the active ingredient you need to source - I once worked on a drug that was sourced from raw material in Japan which was shipped to the U.K. for several synthetic steps (ie chemical reactions), and the intermediate was shipped to the USA east coast for the final steps to turn it into pure drug. The pure drug was then shipped to the West coast USA to put into the tablets, which were then shipped elsewhere to put into bottles. At each step there are other chemicals, reagents & materials. Only takes one thing to go wrong and you’re suddenly running short of pills.

I don't know this but I'd hazard a guess that if it said "Manufactured by XYZ Pharma, Birmingham, UK" then that's just where their head office is and it could just have easily been made at XYZ Pharma's manufacturing plant in Poland

No, if the leaflet bears the manufacturer’s address that is the actual manufacturer. The marketing authorisation (licence) holder can be the same as the manufacturer, or not, with a different address (always in the EU). The leaflet/SPC doesn’t always state the manufacturer, but it usually does.

Your point about the active ingredient is exactly right. Many are made outside the EU/EEA, but this won’t be of much help if goods can’t get through ports and we don’t have any trading treaties in plece between the UK and China or wherever they are made.

Or indeed what Watchamacallit said. 😁

whoateallthebpercypigs don’t be so condescending- funnily enough I do no who the suffragettes were. However surely with a right to vote it’s your right to not vote aswell

2 years later, and we still have JRM, Boris et al booing May from the sidelines.

You might have thought, possibly, that in 2 years, if a viable solution was possible, it would have been found.

If the governments of the UK and 28 EU nations combined have not yet come up with anything resembling a plan, it's entirely possible that it's because there is NO situation where Brexit ends well.

But thankfully Boris and JRM and the others all live in London on £100,000+ per year, with multiple bedroom homes in good neighbourhoods and other property across the country. Once their time in government is over they can get a nice little cushy consulting job for £250,000+ in the private sector. Maybe write a book.

So please understand that anyone you see on TV or hear on the radio advocating Brexit has nothing to lose by doing so. They will comfortably live out the rest of their lives sitting on a huge pile of cash.

On the other hand those of us who live close to hand-to-mouth, how do you think we're going to deal with even a 10% rise in prices on food, petrol, and other goods? Note, that's a 10% rise in each. Not total. Do you think that's going to end well for you?

Do you think it's going to end well for your kids?

Every single financial body
Every single independent research group
Every single industry

Have all said that Brexit is going to be one giant clusterfuck.

It's already wiped billions off our predicted growth in the two years since the vote. Certainly, as someone who lives and works in Europe it's hurt me already because my £ are now traded 1:1 for Euros, rather than the previous 1.3-1.6.

If you're not worried about how badly Brexit is going to hurt you, you're not paying attention.

If you think any politician in the Tory party gives a fuck about you or your families, you're not paying attention.

If you still think that everything is going to be all right, because.... it just is, yeah? ....

You're not paying attention.

With less than six months to go before the UK leaves the bloc, the cabinet has agreed that a flurry of activity will be triggered in the second week of November as the government prepares to crash out of the EU, informed sources said.

The Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, told cabinet colleagues on Tuesday that Whitehall departments needed to step up their efforts next month and move “from warning businesses to telling them to act”.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/24/may-sets-november-date-to-trigger-no-deal-brexit-preparations

Raab continues to spout nonsense. Businesses have been preparing for at least 24 months and have already told the government that they will instigate their Brexit contingency plans at the first sign of there being No Deal. Bye bye Easyjet, Airbus, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Phillips, Honda, BMW, Mitsubishi. One million P45s on the way should focus the government's minds - and perhaps those who voted for Brexit will finally appreciate the reality of what they have done.

Yes, you're just underlining my point though aren't you? Allowing people to be somehow reassured because the manufacturer is listed as being "XYZ Pharma, Birmingham, UK" doesn't really help them if the vital ingredient or process that makes production possible relies on a shipment of goods from the EU.

If the actual amount of medicines which relied on being imported from the EU was just the 37 million packs per month quoted elsewhere then it would be trivial to avoid any transport bottlenecks. They could easily be consolidated at a single location in the EU, customs-cleared for the UK and shipped under seal in just 4 (prioritised) artics or 1 cargo plane a day. As you say though, it's probably a lot more complicated than those '37 million packs'.

@Wotchamacallit

I am particularly intetested in the supply of components of my dd's parenteral nutrition. It is compounded every 2 weeks at a manufacturing site in Harlow, Essex, delivered refrigerated to us with a 3 week shelf life. I have 2 concerns

Not receiving it because the compounding site cant get the components
Or
They get components from third countries where the quality data is minimal/the QP has not visited the site etc and/or the supply chain is not robust so counterfeit drugs/components find their way into the supply chain.

Just wondered if yu had any thoughts? I have emailed the site in Harlow twice over recent months. No response. I would feel reassured if i knew the shelf life and stock levels of key components, but can't find out this info.

Note, that's a 10% rise in each. Not total.

Gosh I'm a pedant, but it's exactly the same thing! An increase of 10% on each of your outgoings is the same as an increase of 10% in your total outgoings.

Sorry.

I totally agree OP. And before anyone starts, yes I have read the notices on the UK Govt. website (I also voted "remain"). There may be some short term confusion if we get no deal but, in the long term, new arrangements will be made. It is in all parties interests to do so. Whether such arrangements will be as advantageous to the UK as full EU membership is another matter.

Gosh I'm a pedant, but it's exactly the same thing! An increase of 10% on each of your outgoings is the same as an increase of 10% in your total outgoings.

Thank goodness someone else posted what I was thinking! Sorry Sethis! Otherwise I agree with what you're saying.

If anyone can tell me if Fexofenadine is something that will be impacted by a no deal outcome, I would be extremely grateful. It is not a life-threatening situation for me but would lead to serious discomfort and unpleasantness. I would like to be able to stockpile a little if it is going to be impacted so I don't end up covered in welts and allergy bumps and looking like the zombie apocalypse has arrived.

Thank you wotcha

What - in your opinion - are the drugs that will be the hardest to source? I honestly couldn't say. I know about my companies supply chains, but not everyone else's. As I explained previously, it could be something simple that holds up one particular chain. Having said that, I do want to reassure those people concerned about their medication that the vast majority of pharma companies take their responsibilities to patients very seriously, and each company will be doing all they can to ensure continuity of supply of medicines. Most of us understand the ethics of continuing to supply patients, and those that don't still understand that not selling your product is bad for the balance sheet.

Yes, you're just underlining my point though aren't you? Allowing people to be somehow reassured because the manufacturer is listed as being "XYZ Pharma, Birmingham, UK" doesn't really help them if the vital ingredient or process that makes production possible relies on a shipment of goods from the EU. Someone asked if they could tell where their medication was made, I pointed them in the direction of information that helped narrow that down. We agree on the complication of supply chain.

@mummeeee - I'm sorry, no, only the companies concerned can assess that, and to be honest the reason they haven't got back to you is that they are probably still working on it.

@Glaciferous I see it's licensed to Dr Reddy's in the UK, which is a large, established generic company. There is nothing on the Patient Information Leaflet that I can see that would cause concern over the general supply chain issues already discussed. I do note though that fexofenadine is available without prescription in the US, so as a back-up plan, if you know anyone travelling to the USA you may want to ask them to pick up a couple of packs while they are there?

@Wotchamacallit

Thank you

I think everyone should be worried. It's a complete mess and nothing good will come of leaving the EU. Thankfully I live in Brussels, away from all the Leave voters. All my European friends here are very upset that the UK are leaving. They can't understand it all and neither do I. It's a terrible decision, made by ill informed voters. I will do anything to keep à European passport. The right to work in Europe is huge thing for me, my children have grown up here and will hopefully find jobs in Europe. Rant over!

TheSage, can I ask, what is your definition of 'the short term' and 'the long term'? Because, clearly from posts here, even short term 'confusion' (a couple of days, a couple of hours even when dealing with JIT logistics) could have a very very significant impact on some people. And when we're talking sorting new trade deals, long term can equal years if not decades.

And for what? I mean, really, why the hell are we even contemplating this??