ABHI’s latest member Brexit survey has highlighted the significant contingency planning that is underway within the HealthTech sector.
Recent government figures have emphasised the economic footprint of HealthTech, ranking it as the largest life sciences employer in the UK, with 93,700 people working across 2600 companies.
When asked about Brexit’s impact on business activity, 80% of companies surveyed have stepped up preparations for a different market environment. Over half of companies are set to make fundamental commercial decisions before March 2019, planning for aspects such as location, warehousing and regulatory support.
Brexit will see 20% of companies look to adjust their schedules of product releases, while over 50% will be looking to change their current supply chain arrangements.
Commenting on the survey’s results, Peter Ellingworth, chief executive of ABHI said: “The UK health technology industry is committed to protecting patient access and this survey shows the types of decisions companies will take in order to continue to do so. Going into the final phases of negotiations, industry is calling on all sides to ensure a deal is made as soon as possible, to help avoid detrimental changes that could affect both UK and EU patients.”
Members of the Association of British HealthTech Industries, the UK’s leading HealthTech trade association, were also asked of their single biggest business challenge at present, with Brexit in second place (25%), behind doing business with the NHS (35%). The result is consistent with ABHI’s January 2018 business survey of its members, which found the cost of serving the NHS to be the biggest barrier to the adoption of innovation.
