Last checked at 
* Threat to regulatory system and research collaboration
* UK exit seen harming British and European pharma sector
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Britain's departure from theEuropean Union would threaten scientific research and jeopardisethe 28-nation bloc's system of drug regulation, the Europeanpharmaceutical industry said on Wednesday.
The declaration is the clearest statement yet on the issueby an industry that includes EU-based players such as Britain'sGlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, France's Sanofi and Germany's Bayer.
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries andAssociations (EFPIA) said Britain's continued EU membership wasin the best interests of a strong life sciences sector both inthe UK and across Europe.
Particular concerns about a so-called Brexit centre on thefuture of the London-based European Medicines Agency (EMA),which approves medicines for all EU countries and might have tomove to a new location if Britain left.
But there are also worries about the impact on biomedicalresearch, given the leading role of British scientists anduniversities in European research programmes.
"Pharmaceutical companies across Europe face considerableuncertainty at the prospect of the UK leaving the EU. Brexit hasthe potential to impact on regulation, the status of the EMA,finance, employment, the transfer of personal data and theEuropean research ecosystem," the EFPIA said in a statementprovided to Reuters.
"The decision to leave or remain within the EU is a decisionfor UK citizens, however, EFPIA firmly believes that the UK'scontinued membership of the EU is in the best interests of astrong life sciences sector in the UK and Europe."
The pound hit a seven-year lows on Wednesday as concernsintensified that Britons could vote to leave the EU in a Junereferendum, with the latest poll showing the "In" camp is ahead but the gap has narrowed.
The leaders of nearly 200 companies threw their weightbehind the "In" campaign in a letter published in the Timesnewspaper on Tuesday. They included 36 FTSE 100 firms, amongthem AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline. (Editing by David Holmes)
