The relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) after the Brexit and its impact on the Italian and European Pharmaceutical Sector

Abstract

EMA is the European Medicines Agency, founded in 1995 with the aim of protecting the public health of European citizens and animals. EMA is thus the responsible for legally approving the commercialization of the new medicines which pharmaceutical companies are willing to start disposing in the European market. EMA’s activity makes the whole system leaner and faster, since having its permission to liberally circulate in the market automatically means, for the medicines’ producers, having a free pass to starting selling it all over European countries. Thus, with a single permission, the company is authorized to start commercializing its medicine, without having to make a specific application for each country it is willing to penetrate the pharmaceutical market. EMA is governed by a 36-member Management Board, an Executive Director, currently the Italian Professor Guido Rasi and 7 scientific committees, responsible for different areas of the European health configuration. At least until Friday 29 March 2019, the official EMA’s headquarters is in London, more precisely in Canary Wharf, the beating heart of the busy Londoner financial district filled with skyscrapers, headquarters of the main Banks and Multinationals of the whole world, from Asia to the USA. However, things will change, and a lot, in the next future. In fact, Britons decided on the 23rd of June, 2016 that they did not want to be part of the European Union anymore, a decision intended to change the course of UK's history, impacting in many ways also all the other European countries, included Italy. Days before the vote, the remain supporters were almost certain to win; however, the final results (leave 51.9% against the 48.1% of the votes for remain) confirmed their final willing to leave the EU, causing a big shock for the whole financial world that was closely following the developments of this referendum. Friday 29th of March - that is the due date for the final breakup between UK and EU, when Brexit will finally become effective in all senses - for better and for worse. Even though the consequences of this very important decision are still very hazed, the first signs that things are changing can already be perceived. Among these long terms aftermaths, in these last few months the reallocation of EMA’s headquarters from London after the Brexit is receiving plenty attention, once the most important financial centers of Europe - such as Stockholm, Copenhagen, Milan, Amsterdam and Dublin - were fiercely competing to be the new head office of the European Agency. Not surprisingly they were all attracted by the great economic and financial advantage this relocation would give to the winner city, estimated in 1.5 billion of Euros, and the development that this would bring to that specific area, once the Agency’s employees – 890 – will need to be transferred in this new location as well. Not only them, but also their families, bringing an incredible economic boost for the chosen city. After the vote for the new EMA’s headquarters ended in a tie between the two final contenders, Amsterdam and Milan, the winner was decided based on luck, simply taking out of a hat the name of the new EMA’s hosting city, in that case Amsterdam. Once we are directly linked with this decision, it is time to ask ourselves which are the very negative consequences of this choice to Milan, and more broaden to the Italian pharmaceutical market as a whole. It is also the case to ask ourselves how come Milan got till the finals. What does it make the city so competitive to attract the possibility of being the city host of an European agency of this magnitude?