Life sciences

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The life sciences sector encompasses companies in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical technology that focus on the research, development and commercialisation of a wide range of products that have a medical application. Such products include pharmaceuticals (ie everything from over-the-counter painkillers to advanced therapies for treating diseases such as cancer or HIV), medical devices (eg plasters, syringes, heart stents, pacemakers, etc) and diagnostics.

Understandably, the life sciences sector is highly regulated and the development and commercialisation of products in the life sciences sector is subject to stringent rules. However, there is not one clearly defined body of ‘pharmaceutical’ or ‘life sciences’ law, instead, a complex framework of rules exists that derives from a variety of sources. In the EU, a large amount of the regulation originates from directives or regulations and is supplemented by guidance issued by the European Commission and by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the decentralised agency of the EU responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines.

Trackers

Practice Notes: Life sciences tracker—EU and Life sciences cases tracker—EU are intended to be used to track the progress of

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Latest EU Law News

COP30 round-up—13 November 2025 (Health, Jobs, Education, Culture, Justice and human rights, Information integrity, Workers and Global Ethical Stocktake)

On 13 November 2025, the fourth day of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a number of significant developments were announced. Brazil announced the adoption of the Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP)—the first international climate adaptation document dedicated specifically to health, while the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) published its 2025 Warming Projections Global Update, reporting no measurable progress in global warming projections for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched the Food Waste Breakthrough initiative, the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative introduced its Strategy 2030 and the Brazilian Chapter of the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change unveiled a Statement of Commitment on Climate Information Integrity in Digital Advertising.

Council of the EU authorises negotiations on UK agri-food and ETS agreements

The Council of the EU has formally authorised the European Commission to open negotiations with the UK on two agreements: a common sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) area for agricultural products and linking emissions trading systems (ETS). The SPS agreement aims to align Great Britain's standards with EU standards, removing most certificates and checks on agricultural products. The ETS agreement would facilitate trading of emissions allowances and allow mutual exemptions from Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms. Both negotiations follow a Common Understanding reached between the Commission and UK Government.

Commission opens EU DMA breach investigation into Google search practices

The European Commission has formally launched proceedings to assess whether Google applies fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions of access to publishers’ websites on Google Search, as required under the EU Digital Markets Act (EU DMA). The investigation focuses on Google’s site reputation abuse policy, which, according to the Commission’s monitoring, appears to demote news media and other publishers’ websites and content in Google Search results where those sites include content from commercial partners. The Commission is examining whether Alphabet’s demotions may breach Articles 6(5) and 6(12) of the DMA, which require transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions for search ranking. The policy appears to affect publishers’ ability to monetise their websites through legitimate business partnerships with third-party content providers. The initiation of proceedings does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation. The Commission aims to conclude its inquiry within 12 months of the opening of proceedings on 13 November 2025. If non-compliance is established, penalties may reach up to 10% of Alphabet’s total worldwide turnover, rising to 20% for repeated infringement, with potential additional remedies including divestment of business operations in cases of systemic non-compliance.

EU Law weekly highlights—13 November 2025

This week's edition of EU Law weekly highlights includes analysis that the Council of the EU reimposed a comprehensive set of restrictive measures against Iran. In addition this week, the European Commission announced that 21 European airlines agreed to modify their practices regarding environmental claims, opened an antitrust investigation to assess whether Deutsche Börse and Nasdaq breached EU competition rules, the European Data Protection Board adopted an opinion on the Commission’s draft adequacy decision on the level of protection of personal data in Brazil, launched a public consultation seeking input on which ready-to-use templates on the EU General Data Protection Regulation compliance, the Commission welcomed the judgment of the Court of Justice on Adequate Minimum Wages Directive, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has urged the Commission to propose legislation regulating the use of algorithmic management, the Commission published its 2025 State of the Energy Union and Climate Progress Reports, launched a call for participants in a Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Internet Standards Deployment, launched work on a code of practice for the marking and labelling of AI-generated content, the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change officially began, the Council of the EU reached an agreement to amend the European Climate Law, the Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the CountEmissionsEU proposal and on the simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy.

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