As many of you across the world recently watched, the United Kingdom has elected to withdraw from the European Union following a public referendum on Thursday the 23rd of June.
It is too soon to have clear perspective on all the implications for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences sectors, but there are several things that are already known:
- The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be required to relocate from London, as EU agencies must be located in a Member State
- The chemistry and pharmaceutical sectors of the EU Unified Patent Court (UPC) will no longer be located in London, as previously planned
Additionally, the existing UK Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) is likely to assume all responsibility for medicines regulation in the UK.
There are, of course, other important factors that will impact all industries, including potential trade barriers and the freedom of movement of the workforce, but it is too early to speculate on how these will play out. This is because leaving the EU will take some time. To start the process, the UK must trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which sets out the procedure to be followed if a Member State decides to leave. In his resignation speech, Prime Minister David Cameron said this is a job for his successor, who he expects to be in place before the Conservative party conference in October. Once Article 50 has been triggered, negotiations to leave the EU will take place over a two-year period, during which time the implications will become clearer.
One thing that we know for certain is that the UK decision to leave the EU does not impact our GLOBALHealthPR partnership. It is, and will continue to be, business as usual for our integrated teams across the world.
This week, I’ll board a flight on my way from GLOBALHealthPR’s headquarters in New York to visit our partner agency 
In the UK, gifts are traditionally delivered by Father Christmas overnight on Christmas Eve. We hang up stockings near the fireplace so when Father Christmas comes down the chimney he can fill our stockings with presents. We also leave a sherry and mince pie for him, and a carrot for his reindeer. Christmas Day is about giving and receiving presents from friends and family and eating as much food as is humanly possible, followed by the Queen’s speech and a snooze.
pore, only those who celebrate Christmas will exchange gifts with each other during the Holidays. For Chinese New Year, Ang Pows, red packets containing cash, are the traditional gift of choice. We give them to children, the elderly and the unmarried. You have to make sure the cash in in Ang Pow adds up to an even number like $4, $8 or $10 for good luck.
Families come together for a big feast that starts when the first stars begin to show. When the children are not paying attention, someone will vanish from the house to dress up as Santa. ‘Santa’ rings a bell to announce his arrival with presents and then hands gifts out to everybody, in exchange for the singing of a song. ‘Santa’ is of course invited for the feast and some vodka. For many years on, kids remember how they either: Did not recognise Santa was their favourite uncle; or recognised their uncle by his old shoes.
. Piñatas are filled with candy and small gifts, and we take turns trying to break them open with a bat or broom stick while blindfolded. When someone finally cracks a piñata open, the candy and presents fall to the floor and the kids launch themselves to the ground trying to grab as many sweets and presents as possible. Though piñatas are often present at birthday parties, the tradition is most strongly associated with Christmas.
we open gifts on December 24th, precisely at 12:00 a.m. along with a family toast. Everybody shares a good panettone (a sweetbread with dried fruit), and we throw firecrackers in celebration. The children also receive gifts on January 6th, from the Three Wise Men. The kids leave their shoes outside the night of the 5th, with some water and grass for the Wise Men’s camels, and wake up to find presents left by their shoes. At the same time as Christmas we start our summer and school vacations, so common gifts for kids include toys for the beach or the swimming pool.
giving tradition is that our children, and of course well-behaved grownups, put their polished shoes in front of the door on the eve of December 6th. Later that night, St. Nicolas arrives to fill the shoes with candy and small gifts. The next morning we decorate the Christmas tree and go to church. After church, we celebrate Christmas with family, sharing gifts, music and a traditional Christmas dinner. Favourite menu items include trout or another fish, potato salad and sausages or duck.
open just one gift on Christmas Eve, and everybody knows what’s in the box – Christmas pajamas! This gets everyone ready for bed and looking spiffy for Christmas morning. That night, after the kids have gone to sleep, Santa Claus sneaks down the chimney and leaves presents under the tree for the good boys and girls. In the morning everyone meets up at the tree, looking fly in our Christmas PJ’s, and shares gifts with friends and family.