Dive Brief:
- In a written statement following the U.K.'s vote to the leave the European Union, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) acknowledged its uncertainty regarding its future role, but assured member states "its procedures and workstreams are not affected by the outcome of the referendum."
- The pending "Brexit" has given rise to speculation on the relocation of major E.U. institutions like the EMA, since the E.U. rules dictate its institutions cannot be seated in a non-E.U. state.
- The EMA "welcomes the interest expressed by some Member States to host the Agency," but the relocation decision will be made through state representatives, and not by the EMA, the agency said on Wednesday.
Dive Insight:
The U.K. has yet to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would start official negotiations on Brexit, but E.U. member states are already jostling to to increase their clout in the now 27-member bloc.
And in a union often defined by rules, regulations and roundtables—the EMA is a prominent prize for any state seeking to gain political and business influence within the EU.
A relocation of the EMA would provide the new seat the opportunity to act as a hub for the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, the agency directly employs 890 skilled employees from around Europe, whose presence could further raise the profile of a new host.
As for the interest, Spain announced last Friday it had created a working group to lobby for the relocation of the EMA and its banking counterpart to Madrid. Meanwhile, Milan's Mayor was in London on Wednesday to meet the two agencies' heads, according to Reuters. For the record, both Guido Rasi, the executive director of the EMA, and Andrea Enria, chair of the European Banking Authority, are Italian.
Swedish and Danish drugmakers have also expressed interest in hosting the EMA although their governments have yet to endorse the bid, Politico reports.
But the EMA made it clear on Wednesday that courting the agency would not influence the decision making process.
"The decision on the seat of the Agency will however not be taken by EMA, but will be decided by common agreement among the representatives of the Member States. We are confident that the Member States will take the most appropriate decision on EMA's location and arrangements in due course," the EMA said.