European Union law prohibits direct-to-consumer advertising of medicinal products for human use that are subject to prescription. However, EU law does not clarify the borderline between advertising and provision of non-promotional information on medicines, the latter being not as yet regulated...

In the EU harmonisation of healthcare has long been elusive. Article 168 paragraph 7 TFEU even forms a sector-specific subsidiarity clause. Meanwhile the ECJ handed down a series of judgments concerning patients' rights to reimbursement for healthcare consumed in other Member States. An initial...

The COVID19 pandemic is changing the face of Europe. Member States' divergent responses to this crisis unveils lack of unity in the face of a humanitarian catastrophe. At best, this undermines the effectiveness of health protection within the EU. At worst, it risks breaking up the Union...

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Governments to contemplate measures to override patents and other intellectual property rights (IPRs) in order to facilitate production and distribution of vaccines, treatments, diagnostics and medical devices. This paper discusses whether the COVID-19 pandemic...

Very few industries are as profoundly influenced by regulation as the pharmaceutical industry. All aspects of the life-cycle of new drugs are regulated, from patent application, to marketing approval, commercial exploitation, patent expiration and competition with generics. The nature of demand...

The last few decades has witnessed the rise of professional sport as a significant and growing commercial industry. As professional sports have grown, so too have the points at which they intersect with the law. However, one area that has largely escaped the attention of practitioners and...

Securing access to effective antimicrobials is one of the greatest challenges today. Until now, efforts to address this issue have been isolated and uncoordinated, with little focus on sustainable and international solutions. Global collective action is necessary to improve access to life-saving...

After recalling to which extent the inefficiencies emerged during the Emissions Trading Scheme past trading periods are related to its institutional framework, as defined by the Directive 87/2003/EC, this article focuses on the major provisions of the 2008 European Commission Proposal for a new...

An increasing number of EU citizens uses self-monitoring mHealth apps: apps used by consumers in a private setting to monitor their general health. The extensive processing of health data by these apps poses severe risks to users’ privacy. These risks are exacerbated by the inapplicability of...