“It will probably not be sufficient for many of these fully innovative products,” he said. “We need to remember the risk, not only the cost, but the risk involved in the development.”
Ministers have ramped up their lobbying efforts — including a visit by health minister Seema Malhotra to AstraZeneca’s Cambridge site last week – where she met with the UK chair Shaun Grady to discuss how both sides could work together to drive innovation both domestically and abroad.
Still, with the final text of the agreement not yet settled, Soriot stressed the company needs to “understand the practical implementation of this,” adding that AstraZeneca is still “working with the government [to] see how we can actually shape the environment and help patients.”
He also warned the challenge extends beyond Britain, saying “it’s not only a question in the U.K., it’s a question across Europe in many countries where access has to improve.”
The EU has not struck a similar pharmaceutical deal with the Trump administration, even as lobbyists point to the U.K’s model as a potential blueprint for Europe to emulate to maintain competitiveness in the life sciences sector.
Soriot gave “an important message to Europe that unfortunately [with] all these investments that happen in the U.S…the risk for Europe is to end up with supplies for generics from India and China and for innovative medicines to be supplied from the U.S. and China.”