No-Deal Brexit Will Require New U.S.-U.K. Drug Inspection Pact

Drugmakers like GlaxosmithKline and Pfizer with plants in the U.K. may have to wait for new agreement on how their U.S.-bound drugs are inspected after Brexit, but observers expect a short wait if there’s a lapse.

The current inspection program ensures drugs made in the EU, including the U.K., meet quality standards to be in the U.S. It has relied for the past year on inspectors from about 20 European nations under a 2017 agreement with the EU’s European Medicines Agency.

Brexit could put an end to the U.K. arm of this agreement if the EU separation occurs without a ...