In this episode of Covington’s Life Sciences Audiocast, Mosa Mkhize and Roderick Dirkzwager discuss WHO prequalification procedures in Africa.
Inside EU Life Sciences
Updates on Legal Developments in the EU Life Sciences Industry
Latest from Inside EU Life Sciences
New ABPI Code and PMCPA Constitution and Procedure Published
Those of us who advise on medicines advertising issues have been waiting for much of 2024 for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (“ABPI”) together with its self-regulatory body for pharmaceutical advertising, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (“PMCPA”), to publish the new Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry (“ABPI Code”). On…
Germany enacts stricter requirements for the processing of Health Data using Cloud-Computing – with potential side effects for Medical Research with Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices
On 1 July 2024, Germany has enacted stricter requirements for the processing of health data when using cloud-computing services. The new Section 393 SGB V aims to establish a uniform standard for the use of cloud-computing services in the statutory healthcare system which covers around 90% of the German population. In this blog post, we describe the specific…
Soon a new global tax on products developed from “digital information” from biological materials? 5 key takeaways for companies from recent UN negotiations
Photo: View from the business delegation to the negotiations in Montreal, of which Covington were part.
On August 16th, 2024, in Montreal, Canada, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”) agreed on the draft text (“Draft decision”) for the operationalization of the Global multilateral mechanism for benefit-sharing from the use of digital sequence information…
Germany amends drug pricing and reimbursement laws with “Medical Research Act” – Drug pricing becomes intertwined with local clinical research expectations
Last week, on 4 July 2024, the German Parliament (Bundestag) has passed significant changes to the country’s drug pricing and reimbursement laws. Just six months after the German Federal Health Ministry (BMG) presented a first draft bill for a “Medical Research Act” (Medizinforschungsgesetz or MFG), the German Parliament has now accepted a modified version of…
Germany prepares new National Strategy for Gene and Cell Therapies
1. Background
Gene and cell therapies are on the rise. On June 12, 2024, the German Federal Government was handed the strategy paper for a National Strategy for Gene and Cell Therapies. The paper is intended to serve as a basis for policymaking to give Germany a leading role in the field of gene…
EU Talking Life Sciences Audiocast: Green Claims – Recent Developments in EU Regulation and Enforcement
In this episode of Covington’s Life Sciences Audiocast, Seán Finan and Rosa Oyarzabal discuss some important recent developments in the regulation of sustainability and green claims and labelling schemes, and the ever-increasing enforcement risk that comes with greenwashing.
UK MHRA Announces Intention To Recognize Certain International Approvals For Certain Medical Devices
On May 21, 2024, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) published a statement of policy intent for UK recognition of international regulatory approvals of certain medical devices (the “Statement”). The Statement follows the Government response to the 2021 consultation on the future regulation of medical devices in the UK that details an…
EU Talking Life Sciences Audiocast: EU Pharma Law Review – Focus on Incentives
In this episode of Covington’s Life Sciences Audiocast, Marie Doyle-Rossi, Anna Wawrzyniak, and Valeria Sturla discuss the position adopted by the European Parliament on 10 April 2024 on the Commission proposal to reform the core EU pharmaceutical legislation.
Parliament’s position comes less than a year since the Commission published its proposal, and…
MHRA Outlines New Strategic Approach to Artificial Intelligence
On April 30, 2024, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) outlined its strategic approach (“Approach”) to artificial intelligence (“AI”). The Approach is a response to the UK Government’s white paper: a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation and subsequent Secretary of State letter of 1 February 2024, and is the culmination of 12…