EU referendum: Now top life science bosses warn of Brexit risk, including GSK, AstraZeneca and Pfizer in open later
Top bosses at firms such as GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Pfizer are among more than 90 leaders in the life sciences who are the latest to warn of the risks of Britain leaving Europe.
In a letter, published in the Observer, the group warned of the implications on the sector which employs more than 222,000 people, spends £4bn on research and development, as well as receiving high levels in inward investment.
"We see significant advantages for the life sciences sector in the UK remaining part of the EU. This would enable the sector to continue to operate within an established and harmonised regulatory approval system, ensuring that UK patients benefit from medicines more quickly, and that medicines researched and manufactured in the UK are available across the EU sooner," the group said.
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Several top pharmaceutical executives are among the signatories, including GlaxoSmithKline's chief Sir Andrew Witty, AstraZeneca's chief Pascal Soriot, Pfizer's Europe boss Richard Blackburn.
Witty said: "Large parts of the UK’s life sciences base has strong links with Europe whether that be for trade, manufacturing, scientific research collaborations or the harmonised regulatory drug approval system. Leaving the EU would create uncertainty and potentially add complexity. That’s why GSK sees advantages in remaining in the EU."
Top executives in the UK and Europe at the world's biggest pharma firms – Shire, Abbvie, Allergan, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi and Bayer – also signed the letter, along with those in the burgeoning biotech industry and academics.
The letter concludes: "Leaving the EU would bring added complexity and uncertainty, which is bad for business and research. Remaining in a reformed and more competitive EU would offer stability and predictability as a platform for even greater success. Staying in would be better for the health and wealth of the UK."
The warning came as it was revealed the life sciences contributed £60.7bn to the UK economy, while exports to Europe generated £11bn for the economy last year.
"This is a serious warning from the leaders of the UK’s £60bn life science sector, which highlights the choice in this referendum: our economic security and global influence as part of the EU, or a leap in the dark," said life sciences minister George Freeman.
The 92 signatories
Sir Andrew Witty, chief, GSK
Pascal Soriot, chief, AstraZeneca
Mike Thompson, chief, Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
Steve Bates, chief, UK BioIndustry Association
Prof Sir John Bell, chair, Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research
Richard Blackburn, regional president Europe, global innovative pharma, Pfizer
Soeren Bo Christiansen, president, MSD Europe and Canada Human Health, Merck Sharp & Dohme
Dr Jane Griffiths, company group chairman, Janssen EMEA
Rudolf Ertl, MD, senior vice president, commercial operations EMEA, Gilead
Jean-Christophe Tellier, chief, UCB Pharma
Gitte Pugholm Aabo, president and chief, LeoPharma
Dr Jorge Gallardo, president and chief, Almirall
Dr Jan van Ruymbeke, chief, Daiichi Sankyo Europe
Philip Ashman, senior vice president-managing director, Europe, Alimera Sciences
Nick Burgin, president and chief operating officer EMEA, Eisai Europe
John Dawson, chief, Alliance Pharma
Matt Regan, UK general manager, AbbVie
Robin Bhattacherjee, general manager, Actelion Pharmaceuticals UK
Sean Connor, UK general manager, ALK-Abello
Steve Higgins, general manager UK and Ireland, Allergan
John Kearney, general manager UK and Ireland, Amgen
Dr Alexander Moscho, managing director, Bayer
Terry O'Regan, vice president and managing director UK and Ireland, Biogen Idec
Professor Dr Klaus Dugi, managing director and medical director, UK and Ireland, Boehringer Ingelheim
Johanna Mercier, managing director, UK and Ireland, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Wim Souverijns, vice president and general manager, UK and Ireland, Celegene
Tom Delahoyde, managing director, Chiesi
Dr Jan-Uwe Class, general manager UK, Grunenthal
Dr Jean-Michel Cosséry, vice president and managing director, Eli Lilly UK and northern Europe
Hugh O'Dowd, country president and general manager, United Kingdom and Ireland, Novartis
Jose Falcon, country manager, PharmaMar
Santoke Naal, managing director UK and Ireland, Pierre Fabre
Tarja Stenvall, general manager, UK Sanofi
Takashi Takenoshita, chief, Shionogi EU
Sebastian Stachowiak, general manager, Shire Pharmaceuticals UK
Dr Erik Miljan, chief, Biodivide
Keith Thompson, chief, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and BIA Board
Dr Will West, executive chairman, CellCentric
Peter George, group chief, Clinigen Group
Dr Peter Pack, chief, Crescendo Biologics
David Williams, chief, Discuva
Dr Eddy Littler, chief, Domainex
Dr Abel Ureta-Vidal, chief, Eagle Genomics
Dr John Haurum, chief, F-star
Kieran Murphy, chief, GE Healthcare UK
Dr Mark Carnegie-Brown, chief, Glide Pharmaceutical Technologies
Dr David Simpson, chief, Glythera
Sean Sutcliffe, chief, Green Biologics
Dr Malcolm Weir, founder, director and chief, Heptares Therapeutics
Dr Darrin Disley, chief and president, Horizon Discovery and BIA Board
Dr Kevin Cox, chief, Imanova and BIA Board
Dr John McCafferty, chief, IONTAS
Dr Simon Kerry, chief, Karus Therapeutics
Dr Jane Osbourn, BIA Board chair and VP R&D, MedImmune UK, MedImmune and BIA Board
Dr Anthony Lockett, founder and chief, MEDQP
Dr Anker Lundemose, chief, Mission Therapeutics
Dr Andreas Schatzlein, chief, Nanomerics
Dr Dale Athey, chief, Orla Protein Technologies
Dr Christian Rohlff, chief, Oxford BioTherapeutics
Dr Andrew Lightfoot, chief, Peptinnovate and BIA Board
Dr Ted Fjallman, chief, Prokarium
Dr John Beadle, chief, PsiOxus Therapeutics
Dr Oliver Hardick, chief and founder, Puridify
Dr Neil Murray, chief, Redx Pharma and BIA Board
Olav Hellebo, chief, ReNeuron Group
Aidan Courtney, chief, Roslin Cell Science
Dr Richard Goodfellow, joint chief, Scancell
Carl Sterritt, chief, Shield Therapeutics
Ali Mortazavi, chief, Silence Therapeutics
Glyn Edwards, chief, Summit (Oxford)
Dr David Venables, chief, Synpromics
Dr Morag McFarlane, chief, Tissue Solutions
Jonny Ohlsonm, chief, founder, director, Touchlight Genetics
James Ward-Lilley, chief, Vectura Group
Stephen Sichak, executive vice president, Becton Dickinson
Jen Hyatt, founder, Big White Wall Holdings
Alasdair Stamps, advisory board chair, BioPartner UK
John Jeans, Life Sciences Champion
Dr Andy Richards CBE, chairman, Congenica, Ixico, Abcodia
Dr Emma Banks, chief, Datatrial
Sir John Chisholm, executive chair, Genomics England
Tim Sheppard, general manager, UK and Ireland, IMS Health
Dr Eliot Forster, chair, MedCity
Prof. Sir Michael Rawlins, chairman, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
Harriet Fear, chief, One Nucleus
Neil Mesher, chief, Philips Electronics
Professor Richard Barker, chairman, Precision Medicine Catapult
Chris Brinsmead CBE, chairman, Proveca
Martino Picardo, chief, Stevenage Bioscience Catapult
Professor Charles Craddock CBE, director, blood and marrow transplant unit and director, Centre for Clinical Haematology, University of Birmingham
Dr Jonathan Sheffield OBE, faculty of medicine, University of Leeds
Professor Simon Lovestone, professor of translational neuroscience, department of psychiatry University of Oxford
Dame Julie Moore, chief executive, University Hospitals Birmingham