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Wellcome Trust says no-deal Brexit could threaten UK’s life sciences stature

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A British nonprofit that funds biomedical and health research is among the organizations urging the U.K.’s new leader to avoid letting the country leave the European Union without an agreement in place.

In an open letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Saturday, Wellcome Trust chairwoman Eliza Manningham-Buller wrote that the final months of this year could be a “tipping point” for science in the U.K. – “either an exciting moment of renewed purpose and ambition, or the point at which the UK’s scientific reputation and success starts to wane.”

She also expressed concerns about a so-called no-deal Brexit, whereby the country would leave the E.U. without an agreement in place formalizing the country’s relationship with the bloc.

Johnson assumed the role of prime minister last week when he was elected leader of the ruling Conservative Party, following the resignation of Theresa May.

“Wellcome spends around £1 billion a year to support research, and most of our money is spent in the UK because it has a thriving sector,” Manningham-Buller wrote. “Leaving the EU without a deal is a threat to that. I am afraid that some damage has already been done, with loss of researchers, and influence. While science promotes global collaboration, the barriers to success need to be minimized, including with Europe where our closest and most extensive science relationships are.”

Johnson has threatened to let the U.K. crash out of the E.U. without a deal on the date of Brexit, Oct. 31, unless the bloc agrees to scrap the Irish border backstop. The backstop means that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would remain open, and to a certain degree Northern Ireland would remain under the E.U. customs and regulatory system. But Brexit supporters oppose this idea, while the E.U. insists upon it. The prospect of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland has also reignited fears of a return to the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland that characterized much of the 20th century, commonly known as the Troubles.

Amid the rhetoric from Johnson’s government, the British pound fell to its lowest level in two years Monday, dropping below £1.23 to the dollar.

Biopharma is among many sectors that have grown anxious about the implications of Brexit, and in particular many have enacted contingency plans such as stockpiling drugs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Last month, members of a panel at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s annual meeting in Philadelphia said that while the U.K. biopharma industry is likely to continue playing an important role on the global stage, it could have difficulty attracting talent after the country leaves the E.U.

Photo: Rui Vieira – WPA Pool, Getty Images

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