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.
First phase of French medical cannabis pilot programme officially started
16 October 2019 - Posted by: Eveline Van Keymeulen
On 15 October 2019, The General Director of the French National Agency for Medical and Health Products (ANSM) issued two Decisions (Decision DG n°2019-365 and 2019-381) in order to pursue the necessary work to set up the medical cannabis pilot programme in France. The decisions (i) create a new French specialised scientific committee (CSST) responsible › Read More
15 October 2019 - Posted by: Eveline Van Keymeulen
On 10 October 2019, French Deputy Olivier Veran introduced an amendment to the 2020 Social Security Financing Bill, in order to provide a clear legal basis for the medical cannabis pilot programme that was endorsed by the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) in July. The amendment is strictly speaking not › Read More
14 October 2019 - Posted by: Tine Carmeliet
Genetic material from plants, animals, microbials or other biological origin is today frequently used not only by companies active in the pharmaceutical or plant breeding industry, but also by businesses in the cosmetics and food industries. Think of a German cosmetics company developing a cream based on a plant extract from Indonesia, or a dairy › Read More
French government determined to sanction pharmaceutical companies for shortages of medicines
07 October 2019 - Posted by: Jeanne Fabre
According to an article published by French newspaper, Les Echos, the French government has decided to impose financial penalties on companies in cases of negligence that result in shortages of medicines. Shortages of medicinal products are increasing in France (See our previous blog post: French regulator (ANSM) imposes major financial penalty on a pharmaceutical company › Read More
France: Innovative medicines marketed too slowly
03 October 2019 - Posted by: Laëtitia Bénard
The Montaigne Institute, an independent think tank dedicated to public policy in France and Europe, published a report on innovative medicines on 19 September 2019, strongly recommending acceleration in market access and the renewal of the medical and economic evaluation of medicines. In France, a reimbursed innovative medicine can only be marketed after the High › Read More