Statement on Northern Ireland Protocol

Mark Samuels, Chief Executive of Medicines UK, said: "This is an important agreement, and we welcome its intent which at its heart provides much-needed certainty. Certainty for UK patients – they should be able to access the same medicines in Birmingham or Belfast. It also provides certainty for manufacturers that there should be no obstruction to the supply chain, which could have made providing generic medicines to Northern Ireland financially unfeasible. Only last year, the Protocol's implementation meant more than 2,100 medicines were on the brink of withdrawal due to sheer impracticalities and immense uncertainty.

"The generics industry supplies four out of five NHS prescription medicines in the UK, and we are pleased that both the UK Government and the EU have recognised the critical nature of this sector in their discussions. We are absorbing the full details but look forward to working with the UK Government on implementing this agreement."