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
Latest from Inside EU Life Sciences
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
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
UK HRA Consults on a New Model Investigator-Initiated Study Agreement
Last week (28 March 2024), the UK Health Research Authority (“HRA”) published a draft model investigator-initiated study agreement (“mIIS-CTA”) to govern investigator-initiated clinical studies (“IIS”) that involve NHS patients and receive support from commercial partners. The HRA is calling for comments on the draft mIIS-CTA by 13 May 2024.
EU Talking Life Sciences Audiocast: Defining innovation markets – applying the new market definition notice to Life Science deals
Tune into this episode of Covington’s Life Sciences Audiocast, where Sibel Yilmaz, Majken Lagerbielke, and Leire Garagorri Eguidazu discuss the new market definition notice published by DG COMP, specifically the latest on the new guidance concerning pharmaceutical innovation markets and possible implications for analysing M&A and licensing deals.
EU Talking Life Sciences Audiocast: Life Sciences Transactions – Outlook and Trends for 2024
Tune into this episode of Covington’s Life Sciences Audiocast, where Winsome Cheung and George Jenkins discuss the key trends in Life Sciences Transactions for 2024. The speakers discuss the outlook for deal-making in Life Sciences and predictions for deal trends, including in relation to nuclear medicine, GLP-1, antibody-drug conjugates and other modalities. The speakers also
EU Health Emergency Mechanisms: Impact on Medical Devices
The European Union has adopted various new rules for emergency situations relating to public health. These new measures build on the experience gained from the COVID-19 pandemic and give new powers to the European Commission, in close cooperation with the Member States.
The new rules create a complex public health crisis management system. Measures that