Welcome to our blog dedicated to Life Sciences. We report on EU and national regulatory, compliance, intellectual property and transactional developments in the sector. We focus on (bio)pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, and also cover food and beverages, cosmetics and other healthcare products.
CJEU confirms that trade mark owners need not amend broad specifications
06 February 2020 - Posted by: David Stone
Today, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in Sky v SkyKick (C-371/18) has declined to follow the Advocate General and held that trade mark specifications that cover broad terms such as “computer software” cannot be invalidated on the basis that they are imprecise or contrary to public policy. In addition, a trade mark › Read More
EU’s top court clarifies when a patent settlement agreement can infringe EU antitrust rules
05 February 2020 - Posted by: Francesca Miotto
The Court of Justice of the EU (ECJ) has for the first time ruled on the issue of settlement agreements involving a value transfer (monetary or otherwise) between the holder of a pharmaceutical patent and generic drug manufacturers (so-called ‘pay-for-delay’ agreements). It has clarified the criteria governing when entry into this type of agreement can › Read More
EU: On the Origin of Big Data is D.A.R.W.I.N the future?
04 February 2020 - Posted by: Benjamin Scrace
A joint task force of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) has proposed a new approach to the use of “big data” in EU medicines regulation. The report, from the Big Data Task Force (BDTF) (accessed here), contributes to the EMA and HMA’s “EU Network Strategy” to 2025 and shows › Read More
China/US trade deal strengthens IP protection in China for pharmaceutical companies
03 February 2020 - Posted by: David Shen
On 16 January 2020, China and the United States signed the Economic and Trade Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America (the Phase One Trade Agreement). The Phase One Trade Agreement includes a chapter on intellectual property aimed at resolving a wide range › Read More
30 January 2020 - Posted by: Eveline Van Keymeulen
On 28 January 2020, the French specialised scientific committee (CSST) provided some further insight with respect to the necessary requirements for companies to participate in the medical cannabis pilot programme. The first phase of the programme, which is the implementation phase, officially kicked off in October 2019 (see our latest blog post “First phase of › Read More