The Independent - 13 July 2026 - Cancer drug fiasco shows why Burnham must focus on EU

Jul 31, 2026

Brexit’s impact on UK children and cancer research is highlighted through a case where British patients with rare, aggressive brain cancer were denied access to a potentially life-extending drug trial. The article explains delays to clinical trial phase work within the EU regulatory framework and notes wider consequences including slower trial launches, higher research costs, and disrupted supply chains for approved prescription medicines. It calls for EU-UK reset negotiations under incoming leadership to remove barriers and speed scientific cooperation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages131

Reading Time5 h 30 min

AccessFree to download

News / Editorial

Cancer drug trial delays and human consequences

Impact on clinical trials and medicine supply chains

Calls for EU-UK reset negotiations and policy direction

Broader political context and election stakes

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| MONDAY 1 3 JULY 2 0 2 6 | WWW. INDEPENDENT. CO. UK | | --- | --- | Monday 13 July 2026 News / Editorial Cancer drug fiasco shows why Burnham must focus on EU uch of the very real damage inﬂicted on Britain by the decision to leave the European Union in 2016 is couched in cold, abstract terms: loss of GDP, the opportunity cost of investments forgone, billions of pounds in lost tax revenues. Seldom are the personal, human consequences so graphically illustrated as they are in The Independent today as we report how British children with a rare and aggressive brain cancer have been denied a potentially lifeextending drug trial. With the illness virtually impossible to treat let alone cure by present methods, every step should be taken to develop new ones. But the second phase of a clinical trial has been delayed because of Brexit, since the UK now lies outside the EU’s regulatory framework. There are other trials in this ﬁeld, but asthe scientists involved argue, any barrier to vital research in this area is “frustrating”. Indeed, Cancer Research points out that Brexit has slowed the launch of clinical trials and increased the costs for multiple drugs to treat cancers. In the case of approved drugs, Brexit has disrupted supply chains and caused unnecessary shortages of prescription medicines, including for epilepsy and cystic ﬁbrosis. It is an intolerable situation, and remedying it should be a high priority for the UK-EU “reset” negotiations when Andy Burnham takes over as prime minister. Like Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Burnham is committed to rebuilding crucial links with European partners, and this is one area in which there will be a very welcome continuation of that policy. Better still would be more ambition and pace in the direction of travel, albeit for the moment constrained by Labour’s 2024 manifesto red lines on the EU single market and customs union. Nonetheless, there is much that can be done in this parliament to boost trade, investment and scientiﬁc research. A ﬁne example of this, and one that should be applied to drug research, is how the UK has quietly rejoined the EU’s £80bn Horizon science research programme. This was actually achieved when Rishi Sunak was prime minister, and he abandoned the performative hostility to the EU that had characterised the Johnson and Truss premierships. More than two years in, Britain’s universities and institutions have recovered a leading role. The Horizon programme will commence its next ﬁve-year programme next year with Britain ﬁrmly at the forefront of its activities, pooling sovereignty to mutual advantage. For the new prime minister, constrained as he is by so many formidable ﬁscal and political obstacles, Europe represents a rich agenda for incremental but signiﬁcant change in the national interest. For farmers, consumers, manufacturers, performers, students, professionals and scientiﬁc researchers alike, taking down the barriers to freedom of movement of people and goods achieves at least three things. First, it brings some immediate tangible beneﬁts, not least in the context of cancer research. Second, it boosts economic growth for the longer term, helping raise living standards and public services. Third, it helps win the argument for “more Europe”, not less, and how the EU, far from being to blame for Britain’s malaise, helps to alleviate it. Assuming Mr Burnham leads his party into the next election, it will fall to him to deepen the nation’s links with Europe and make the case for still closer cooperation, further relaxing thered lines adopted by his predecessor and reopening the European debate. For the moment, Reform UK still leads in the opinion polls, despite multiple scandals. Nigel Farage is promising to renegotiate the Brexit treaty signed by Boris Johnson, wants to strip EU citizens of their rights to beneﬁts, and threatens a trade war with Britain’s biggest trading partner. The human and wider economic costs of Brexit have been grievous, but

FAQs

How did Brexit affect access to a cancer drug trial for British children?

The drug trial phase was delayed because the UK is outside the EU’s regulatory framework, blocking potentially life-extending research for patients.

What broader effects on cancer research does the article attribute to Brexit?

Brexit is described as slowing clinical trial launches, increasing costs, and disrupting supply chains, leading to unnecessary shortages of prescription medicines.

What does the article suggest should happen in EU-UK negotiations under the incoming prime minister?

It argues that the UK should prioritize removing barriers through the EU-UK “reset” negotiations, enabling closer cooperation and speeding progress in areas like drug research.

Jul 31, 2026

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