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Each week we provide a round-up of key legal developments in the life sciences sector curated by our life sciences legal team. This includes

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Life Sciences weekly highlights—23 October 2025

This week's edition of Life Sciences weekly highlights includes news on the UK Administrative Court’s decision to dismiss a judicial review challenging a refusal to be included in the pharmaceutical list for distance selling premises (R (Medis Pharma) v NHS Resolution), the European Commission adopted its sixth and final implementing regulation for joint clinical assessments of medical devices under the Health Technology Assessment Regulation, and the MHRA selected seven AI healthcare technologies for the second phase of its AI Airlock regulatory sandbox programme. Also included, is news that the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee will vote on its draft opinion regarding environmental aspects of the Commission’s Critical Medicines Act following 119 tabled amendments, the EMA updated its FAQ guidance document on parallel distribution, the European Commission adopted its 2026 Work Programme, the DHSC and NHS England published positive time-saving findings from the world’s largest healthcare AI trial and the UK government announced a funding boost for regional science and technology sectors, among other stories.

European Commission adopts 2026 Work Programme

The European Commission has adopted its 2026 Work Programme, Europe’s Independence Moment, setting out a new plan for Europe’s sustainable prosperity, competitiveness, and resilience. Building on its previous efforts under the 2024–2029 Political Guidelines, the 2026 Work Programme aims to strengthen Europe’s technological autonomy, energy security, and social cohesion while driving simplification and competitiveness across all sectors.

DSIT unveils regional innovation investment

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced a funding boost for regional science and technology sectors, allocating an additional £20m each to Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and the Glasgow City Region. This brings their total support to £50m per region under the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF), aimed at accelerating local innovation in areas such as life sciences, clean energy and artificial intelligence (AI). The funding precedes the upcoming Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham and is part of the broader £500m LIPF initiative. The government is also inviting further bids from other UK regions to support high-potential innovation clusters.

EMA and EU pharma collaborate with social media to prevent counterfeit and unsafe use of medicines

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched its first social media campaign working with content creators to promote safe use of GLP-1 receptor agonists. The #HealthNotHype campaign partners with healthcare professionals and nutrition experts from seven EU Member States on Instagram to address misinformation about these diabetes and weight management medicines. The month-long campaign, which began on 21 October 2025, involves content creators with a combined following of approximately 1.4 million users posting audiovisual content and conducting interactive polls. EMA selected creators based on their credibility in healthcare communication and alignment with evidence-based information principles. Separately, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) announced a partnership with TikTok on 21 October 2025 to combat counterfeit medicine sales through its 'Don't fall for dupes' campaign, highlighting that over 50% of medicines sold online are counterfeit.

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