About Life Sciences Law
Lexis®+ Life Sciences is an online practical guidance product for contentious and non-contentious lawyers providing advice to and supporting the UK’s Life Sciences sector.
Research and development
Highly regulated, with strict compliance rules, work can be in-house or in collaboration with another entity. Guidance includes practice notes on UK and EU regime for clinical trials and various precedents.
Intellectual property
Patents and supplementary protection certificates are significant to many life sciences businesses. We have practice notes on pharmaceutical patents, biotechnology patents, IP protection for medical devices and more.
Medicinal products
This content includes guidance on marketing authorisations, orphan and paediatric medicines, pharmacovigilance, manufacturing, unlicensed and off-label medicines.
Medical devices
Covering key areas of medical devices regulation including classification, conformity assessments, clinical and performance evaluation as well as post-market surveillance.
Topics We Cover
Latest Life Sciences News
Commercial analysis: In RMK Maritime (Europe) Ltd and another company v CMB.Tech NV (previously known as Euronav NV), the Commercial Court dismissed a...
EU Law analysis: On 20 January 2026, the European Commission published a new ‘Cybersecurity Package’ consisting of a proposed Regulation referred to...
The European Commission has published two new Implementing Decisions updating the references of harmonised standards under the EU medical devices...
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has updated product information for healthcare professionals and patients to highlight...
From 28 April 2026, the HRA will introduce changes for non-clinical trials of investigational medicinal products (CTIMP) studies to align with the new...
Latest Life Sciences Practice Notes
Brexit timelineOn 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its membership of the EU, with a majority voting in favour of the UK leaving the EU. On 29...
Brexit legislation trackerThis Practice Note tracks the progress of UK legislation introduced as part of the legislative project associated with the...
Brexit implementation period—applicable law [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.This Practice Note...
Jurisdiction agreements—approach of the courts of England and WalesThis Practice Note looks at the approach of the English courts when determining the...
Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—enforcementThis Practice Note considers the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and its...
Latest Life Sciences Precedents
Retained EU law—training materials [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.These training materials consist of...
Manufacturing agreement—pro-customerThis Agreement is made on [insert date]parties1[insert name of customer ][of OR a company incorporated in [England...
Manufacturing agreement—pro-manufacturerThis Agreement is made on [insert date]parties1[insert name of manufacturer ][of OR a company incorporated in...
Non-confidential disclosure letter agreement[insert address of sender]Our ref: [insert reference]Your ref: [insert reference][insert address of...
Confidentiality letter—one-way—pro-discloser[insert address of sender]Our ref: [insert reference]Your ref: [insert reference][insert address of...
Latest Life Sciences Q&As
Featured Life Sciences content
Introduction to technology transfer agreements in the Life Sciences industry
Introduction to technology transfer agreements in the Life Sciences industryWhat is a technology transfer agreement?The term ‘technology transfer...
Regulation of cosmetic products in the UK
Regulation of cosmetic products in the UKThis Practice Note provides an overview of the UK regulatory framework for cosmetics. It sets out the legal...
Intellectual property protection for medical devices
Intellectual property protection for medical devicesChanges to intellectual property (IP) law from 1 January 2021Before discussing how intellectual...
Second and subsequent medical use patent claims
Second and subsequent medical use patent claimsBackground to medical use claimsSecond (and subsequent) medical use patent claims are specific to the...
The experimental use and Bolar-type exemptions to patent infringement
The experimental use and Bolar-type exemptions to patent infringementPatent systems are intended to foster innovation, not to impede it. For this...
The 2024 ABPI Code of Practice—what are the key proposed changes?
The PMCPA has recently launched a consultation to update:•the 2021 ABPI Code of Practice•the Constitution and Procedure which sets out how the PMCPA...
Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) master services agreement
Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) master services agreementDATA PROTECTION NOTICE: Please note that the drafting of clause 7 (Data Protection), in...
The EU Clinical Trials Regulation
The EU Clinical Trials RegulationThis Practice Note looks at Regulation (EU) 536/2014, the EU Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR), which governs clinical...
Medical devices due diligence questionnaire
Medical devices due diligence questionnaireIntroductionThis medical devices regulatory due diligence questionnaire relates to the proposed purchase by...
Biotechnology patents
Biotechnology patentsPatenting biotechnological inventionsBiotechnological inventions are, in principle, patentable. While there is no general...
Unlicensed medicinal products and off-label use of medicinal products
Unlicensed medicinal products and off-label use of medicinal productsThis Practice Note explores unlicensed medicinal products and the various ways...
MHRA releases guidance on pharmacovigilance following Windsor Framework agreement
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has released guidance on the implementation of changes to pharmacovigilance for...
The regulation of medical devices in the UK
The regulation of medical devices in the UKThis Practice Note provides an overview of the UK regulatory regime for medical devices. It explains the...
Court of Appeal allows appeal in British Standards v RRR Manufacturing
The National Archives has published the judgment in British Standards Institution v RRR Manufacturing Pty Ltd, R (on the application of) [2024] EWCA...
CMA announces Phase 1 merger inquiry into Roche Diagnostics
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced a Phase 1 merger inquiry into Roche Diagnostics Ltd's acquisition of point-of-care testing...
DSIT publishes international scientific report on advanced AI safety
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has released the interim International Scientific Report on the Safety of Advanced...
The regulation of advanced therapy medicinal products
The regulation of advanced therapy medicinal productsThe development of medicine, biomicrobiology and biotechnology has led to the emergence of a...
Associated legal terms
Active device (or active medical device)
Generally, active devices refer to medical devices powered by electricity or any source of power other than that generated by the human body or gravity. Examples are examination lights, surgical microscopes, gas pressure regulators or blood pumps for heart-lung machines or devices for viewing diagnostic images such as ultrasound images. Under Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (EU MDR), ‘active device means any device, the operation of which depends on a source of energy other than that generated by the human body for that purpose, or by gravity, and which acts by changing the density of or converting that energy. Devices intended to transmit energy, substances or other elements between an active device and the patient, without any significant change, shall not be deemed to be active devices. Software shall also be deemed to be an active device’. UK legislation compounds the definition of an ‘active’ device with implantable devices.
CE mark
Mandatory conformity marking for certain products sold within the EEA, including medical devices. It shows that the manufacturer has checked that these products meet EU safety, health or environmental requirements, is an indicator of a product’s compliance with EU legislation and allows the free movement of products within the EEA.
Marketing Authorisation
The approval needed to place a medicinal product on the market. It sets out the medical conditions (known as indications), patient population and dosage for which the product is authorised as well as any conditions imposed on the holder of the marketing authorisation.
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