[ti:No-deal Brexit Could Make Europe's Medicine Shortage Worse] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.01]Britain will leave the European Union with or without a deal on October 31, says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. [00:13.16]Now, some health professionals are saying that leaving the EU without a deal could increase medicine shortages in both the EU and Britain. [00:28.65]Britain's food and drink organization warned last week that the country could also have shortages of some fresh foods if there is a no-deal Brexit. [00:42.77]Pharmaceutical companies have said the same. [00:47.67]They are worried about the availability of some medicine. [00:52.91]Some have organized flights to bring in supplies if needed. [00:59.32]A shortage of medical supplies could also occur beyond Britain. [01:05.61]EU countries receive about 45 million containers of medicines from Britain every month. [01:15.07]But some drugs might not have the required regulatory approval in time to be imported from Britain. [01:24.75]About 1 billion containers go in one direction or the other each year, industry information shows. [01:34.22]Increased customs controls at ports and other borders between Britain and the EU could also cause shortages. [01:45.39]Experts say the controls could slow supplies of drugs and the chemicals needed to produce them. [01:54.52]"A no-deal Brexit risks disruption to the supply of medicines," throughout the EU, Andy Powrie-Smith said. [02:05.94]He is an official at the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. [02:14.72]Drugs in the EU are regulated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). [02:22.50]The agency is the only body that can approve sales of new drugs to treat the most common and serious diseases, including cancer. [02:35.24]It said the EU is prepared for Brexit, and it has final approval for nearly all the 400 drugs that required further clearing. [02:48.92]However, approval is not finalized for three medicines that need EU-wide licenses, an EMA official said. [03:01.65]He did not identify the drugs. [03:05.41]Many other medicines approved at the national level could also be at risk. [03:13.07]Nearly 6,000 of these drugs will need to go through a new licensing process after Brexit. [03:23.01]The EMA official said the agency did not have "a full picture" of the situation in all EU states for nationally approved medicines. [03:37.45]A survey of 21 European countries showed that all of them had shortages of medicines last year, explained the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union. [03:52.68]They faced problems with production, regulators or distribution. [03:59.56]Vaccines were among the drugs most often in short supply. [04:05.85]Eric Van Nueten is the head of a large medicine business in Belgium that supplies medicine to stores. [04:15.72]He noted the industry will see some problems and delays if Britain leaves without a deal. [04:23.80]"But I think we will be able to manage," he added. [04:28.09]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM