Engineering news
Published today (May 3) by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Medical Devices & CE Marking – the Impact of Brexit says the 90,000 job industry faces an annual funding shortfall of €1bn once it is no longer eligible for European Research Council money. Ensuring the £17bn sector can continue to innovate and export post-Brexit is vital, the report says.
“The UK Government must ensure that the Med Tech industry is high on its priority list as it prepares to negotiate the country’s departure from the EU,” said Helen Meese, head of healthcare at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. “Leaving the EU without the UK medical technology industry suffering considerable long-term damage, particularly for small businesses, will be a huge challenge.”
Meese said the industry makes a huge contribution to healthcare both domestically and internationally, from the design of artificial joints and organs to the production of aids for independent living.
The report says the UK industry and the NHS must work together to ensure they retain influence over future European regulations. Although this influence could flow from the purchasing power of the NHS, it should also be based on formal arrangements negotiated by the UK Government on its behalf, the authors write.
They also add that UK Research and Innovation must address the EU funding shortfall the industry faces, and any new funding arrangement should also address the existing imbalance between new start-ups and large established companies.
A third key recommendation from the report is for the Government to negotiate a new Med Tech “compliancy arrangement” with the EU to ensure continuity in the CE marking process, which allows the UK industry to export medical devices and equipment. Small and medium-size Med Tech enterprises should be attracted to the UK by clear support for innovation and product development, the report adds.
When contacted by PE, the Department for Exiting the European Union referred to prime minister Theresa May’s letter to European Council president Donald Tusk on March 29, where she said the UK and EU “start from a unique position in these discussions – close regulatory alignment, trust in one another's institutions, and a spirit of cooperation stretching back decades.” The prime minister said she was “sure” that a comprehensive agreement including trade terms would be reached during the two-year negotiation period started by triggering Article 50.