The UK healthtech industry is preparing for the inevitable onset of Brexit, with companies already planning commercial decisions in time for March 2019.

The news comes from the ABHI’s latest member Brexit survey which highlights the significant contingency planning that is currently underway within the healthtech industry.

The survey details that 80% of the companies involved have already increased preparations for a different market environment, signifying the effect Brexit is having on business activity.

More so, over half of the companies surveyed are set to make fundamental commercial decisions before March 2019 and are looking at essential planning aspects such as location, warehousing and regulatory support.

It’s also expected that Brexit will see 20% of companies looking to adjust their schedules of product releases and over 50% will be looking to change their current supply chain arrangements.

In fact, Brexit is currently the second biggest challenge for members of the ABHI, with the largest being doing business with the NHS. In January this year, the ABHI found the cost of serving the NHS to be the biggest barrier to the adoption of new technology advancements.

Commenting on the survey’s results, Peter Ellingworth, chief executive of ABHI said: “The UK health technology industry is committed to protecting patient access and this survey shows the types of decisions companies will take in order to continue to do so. Going into the final phases of negotiations, industry is calling on all sides to ensure a deal is made as soon as possible, to help avoid detrimental changes that could affect both UK and EU patients.”