Brexit has caused shortages of certain drugs to more than double over the last three years, a think-tank said today.
Nuffield Trust said its analysis of data found 1,643 warnings of drug shortages in 2023 against 648 in 2020 when Britain left the EU.
The government has had to reimburse pharmacies for buying drugs above their standard cost more frequently as result, said the Trust.
Brexit removed the UK from EU supply chains, with the problem made worse by doctors changing the way they prescribe medicines in the UK and the cash issues facing the NHS.
"We know many of the problems are global and relate to fragile chains of imports from Asia, squeezed by COVID-19 shutdowns, inflation and global instability," said Nuffield Trust Brexit Programme Lead Mark Dayan.
"But exiting the EU has left the UK with several additional problems – products no longer flow as smoothly across the borders with the EU, and in the long term, our struggles to approve as many medicines might mean we have fewer alternatives available."
The UK has also been slower to approve new drugs than the EU, the report said.