Yesterday, pharma giant AstraZeneca announced that they have halted investment in the UK due to lack of clarity on trading regulations during this time of Brexit uncertainty.

“If a transition deal does not make clear what will happen in the future, we will maintain our decision not to invest,” Leif Johansson, non-executive chairman of the company told Le Monde, the French newspaper.

“A Brexit agreement will need to ensure that Britain does not become an isolated island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,” he continued.

The drug makers have already spent £40m ($53m) stockpiling in preparation for a ‘no-deal’.

AstraZeneca’s announcement echoes concerns of many big companies with a vested interest in the UK. Their declaration is unsettling, to say the least.

“In business, uncertainty often forces you to make decisions. But what is frustrating is to have to do so when the existing system works very well,” Johansson said. “This is costing us money and brings us no benefit.”