Month: October 2019

The Morningside Pharmaceuticals Team were proud to be part of the Teen Tech Leicester Festival, where we manned a stall in the Insight Zone.

The event hosted at the Morningside Arena, Leicester, which Morningside Pharmaceuticals are named sponsors of, saw 350 students engage with 30 local and national businesses, education institutions and media outlets like the BBC.

During the day the students took part in a range of activities hosted by the businesses in the Challenge Zone and Insight Zone, as well as took part in Teen Tech organised events in the Innovation Zone.

Morningside Pharmaceuticals’ stall was located in the Insight Zone which enabled pupils to meet and talk to real world innovators, large technology companies and industry leaders. Pupils got an understanding of each industry, and participated in simulated tasks that illustrated the real work that goes into science and technology.

The Morningside Pharmaceuticals Team presented the students with a range of information about our work, before asking them to take part in a fun quiz. On the day all of the students who took part were a great credit to their schools.

The event was one of Teen Tech’s Festival Days,  which brings together students from across a region with local businesses from a wide range of companies for a day of hands-on challenges and experiments.

For more information on TeenTech visit here.

By Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Chief Executive of Morningside Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Department for International Trade (DIT) Export Champion and a CBI Regional Councillor.

“Preparing to leave the European Union must currently be the number one priority for every UK business.

It is one of the most challenging issues facing UK companies and there is still so much uncertainty of what the actual terms of the UK’s departure from the EU, if there are any, will be.

My company, Morningside Pharmaceuticals, manufactures and supplies quality medicines to the UK and international markets. Here are some details of the action we have taken to ensure the business is ready for every eventuality.

Stockpiling and Warehousing

Due to the need for continuity of supply of medicines we have taken advice from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and stockpiled a minimum of 6 weeks’ worth of drugs, to cover any delays caused by a No Deal Brexit. This is to cover any delays with shipping goods at the ports.

We have almost doubled our stock levels since December 2018, which has meant that we have had to find extra storage space that provides temperature and humidity control. A large number of manufacturers and suppliers are doing the same, which has meant the costs of storage have also become higher.

Customs: Importing

In the case of a No Deal Brexit it is anticipated that there will be delays at the border, as the free movement of goods from the EU will end. This means everything that we are importing and exporting from the EU will become subject to customs checks and procedures.

The Government has stepped up efforts to ensure businesses are ready to trade post-Brexit by automatically allocating more than 88,000 VAT registered companies across the UK with Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) numbers, for more information visit here. All EORI numbers must start with GB. To get an EORI number visit here.

You can also use the Common Transit Convention (CTC) to move your goods quicker so customs declarations are not required at each border crossing. For more information on the CTC please visit here.

As an interim measure the Government is also rolling out Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP), which make it easier to import goods from the EU in a No-Deal situation by delaying your declaration and paying any relevant import duties and/or VAT. This is something we have signed up to as part of our contingency planning. Look into setting up a Duty Deferment Account too, which will enable you to make one payment of customs duties a month instead of paying for individual shipments. You must set one up if you plan to use Transitional Simplified Procedures, which you can find more information on here.

You will also need to check the rate of tax and duty to pay, as you will need to pay customs duties and VAT on all imports.

For more information on Importing from the EU, please visit the Government’s advice here.

Customs: Exporting 

For all EU shipments a customs declaration will be required.

The rule for pharmaceuticals entering the EU is that any product that is being used in the EU and going to an end patient there, has to be released by a Qualified Person (QP) within the EU. In the event of a No Deal Brexit, we have made contingency plans to release batches for our customers in the EU

Having an office in the EU will also be vital for preparing for regulatory changes brought about by a No Deal Brexit. One particular area is pharmacovigilance, which is the practice of monitoring the effects and safety of medicines. Having an EU base will enable us to comply with EU regulations around pharmacovigilance. It also means that licensing of medicines in the EU must be held in an EU territory.

Other export advice from the Government includes; making sure your business has an EU EORI number that starts with GB, check your importer has an EU EORI number, check the rate of tax and duty for your goods and check what you need to do for the type of goods you export.

For more information on Exporting to the EU, please visit the Government’s website here.

Supply Chain

Supply chain holdups, particularly at the Port of Dover where the majority of our goods come across from the EU, is a concern for many businesses.

To help alleviate delays at Dover the Government plans to bring in new measures that will improve Kent’s resilience if services across the English Channel are disrupted. This is called Operation Brock. For more information visit here.

To ensure delays are kept to a minimum the Government is running a number of schemes to secure ferry space. They plan to buy space with the ferry organisations, which will give businesses like ours the opportunity to register for space and use it for priority orders. The Government is also introducing an Express Freight Service, which will be rolled out if there are any shortages of essential goods, such as medicines. This will see a courier service contracted out to guarantee priority orders have minimal delays.

A facility in the port of Ostend, in Belgium, has been set up too, so if there is a problem manufacturers can apply for a coupon to move stocks through there efficiently in the event of a No Deal Brexit. Our haulage providers are also taking part in Alternative Routing. This will see other routes looked at to avoid delays at Dover and Calais.

We are applying to be an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO), which is an accreditation given by HMRC, which shows that our supply chain is safe and secure. To achieve this a business must submit an application to HMRC, which is then followed by an audit of their supply chain. To help prepare for the audit we carried out a gap analysis to further improve our processes. During this audit our procedures were reviewed in line with the criteria, which identified any gaps. For more information on the AEO visit here.

Companies can also apply for a Training Grant, which is for any company that has to do additional work with regards to customs procedures because of Brexit. This grant will be paid by the Government to the company applying, which will then be able to fund the training from their supplying partner. For more information visit here.

During a recent keynote speech at Voluntary Action Leicestershire (VAL)’s Future Focus conference, business leader and charity Trustee Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, shared his 7 top tips for charities looking to better engage with the Private Sector.

“The UK’s charitable sector is experiencing unprecedented challenges, as fundraising becomes more difficult, competition increases and cuts in public funding continue.

At the same time the way in which people donate is changing through the generations, the markets are contracting, while there is increased demand for charities’ services.

This perfect storm means that charities of all sizes need to be more entrepreneurial about fundraising. It also means that charities should look to engage with businesses far more. They may wish to look at operating in a similar way by taking a more entrepreneurial approach, which could lead to developing more sustainable funding streams.

I’m passionate about encouraging the Charity Sector to partner with the Private Sector and vice versa, which is a win-win for both, as there is so much we can learn from each other.

Here are my 7 Top Tips for building engagement and long-term relationships between the two.

1. Get Heard

As competition increases the old adage of ‘the ones that shout the loudest, get the most funding’ rings true. I see businesses giving to the same charities, because they know them, and see them all of the time. So charities, particularly smaller charities that are under the radar, need to shout a lot more about what they are doing. This maybe through your social media channels, where you can share a wealth of positive information and build a loyal following, to sending regular press releases into the media to achieve positive PR.

Applying for awards, such as those run by local business groups, Press or the Chamber of Commerce, is also a great way to raise your charity’s profile. The more you get yourselves out there the more familiar businesses will be with your work and the more likely they are to be open to forging long-term partnerships.

2. Nominate a Business Lead 

It’s all well and good promoting your Charity but it will be difficult to cultivate business engagement without a designated business lead. This person can be the primary point of contact to provide consistency, develop a shared dialogue, network at business events and build relationships.

3. Get Involved 

Locally and nationally the Private Sector is awash with networking events, conferences and other opportunities to meet and engage business contacts. Select events which fit well with your charity’s mission and values and make sure you send representation. Talk to people there about your work and if possible try and secure speaking opportunities so you can promote your activities to as wide an audiences as possible.

4. Be Proactive

Some of the most successful collaborations will come if you take a proactive approach. Why not set up business clubs or round-table events in your local area. This way you can build familiarity with your brand amongst business professionals, as well as establish funding streams, if businesses are willing to donate to take part.

5. Look to Influencers

We live in a media society, where influential people and businesses can make a huge impact on the fundraising successes of charities. Try and cultivate relationships with high profile people in your area. These could be influential people from a local sports team, to celebrities living locally, or even leading business people. Try and nurture these people into advocates and you can then ask them to support with specific projects.

You will find they will be able to open doors and secure publicity, which will help forge business partnerships. They will also be able to share knowledge, contacts and make referrals.

6. Build Partnerships

Once you have established a close relationship with a business, you can then work with them to help with your fundraising activities. A lot of businesses choose one charity a year for their employees to support, which means they will actively fundraise for you, as well as publicise all of the activities through their channels. You can also look at hosting gala dinners, sponsorship opportunities and fundraising days at their offices. Try and get them involved in your campaigns too and look for opportunities like asking them to donate to your charity rather than sending Christmas cards, each year.

7. Continuously Improve Together

As your partnerships develop, you should seek business’ support and guidance to improve key areas. Identify the big challenges for your charity that could be solved with the help of the private sector and prioritise these. Build objectives into key projects to seek external partnerships, and reframe business partnerships as opportunities to cut costs or achieve activities that otherwise may not be possible. It may also be helpful to share insights and establish shadowing and mentoring opportunities with businesses to help understand how their processes could be of benefit. Remember this also works both ways and there is a huge amount of best practice that you can also share with businesses.

For more information on the Randal Charitable Foundation visit here: www.randalfoundation.org.uk