News
EU harmonizes THC limits in hemp seed (food) as from 1 January 2023
Hemp seeds have been eaten in the EU for a long time. The seeds may contain trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) because this cannabinoid is a natural constituent of the cannabis plant from which the seeds originate. The EU regulator has decided to harmonize the maximum levels for THC in hemp seeds throughout the Union within the food contaminants framework.
WEBINAR VIDEO | What do the CJEU’s decisions on parallel trade of medicines mean for your company?
At this additional Christmas edition, the IP specialists in our Life Sciences team discuss the CJEU’s latest decisions on the parallel trade of medicines, and what these decisions mean in practice for your company.
New Royal decree introduces new provisions about sustainability and the requirements for advertisements of UCIs offered in Belgium
On 12 December 2022, a new Royal decree of 5 December 2022 (the “Royal Decree”) was published that introduces new rules for UCIs on two different topics: first, by implementing the European provisions on sustainability risks and sustainability factors; second, by providing a set of harmonising rules for the advertisements of UCIs offered in Belgium.
E-fulfilment: what is it and what to look out for?
Everyone knows what e-commerce is by now, but what about e-fulfilment? We explain below what this term means and what the points of interest are.
WEBINAR VIDEO | ALTIUS Digital Law Series #18: Keeping up with GDPR
During this session, our data protection teams have a closer look at: Jan Clinck and Pierre Antoine present this webinar in French and Dutch.
Draft Belgian Whistleblowing Act now adopted in Parliament!
The draft Belgian Act on whistleblowing for the private sector, which transposes EU Directive 2019/1937 (‘the Whistleblowing Directive’) into national legislation, has finally been adopted in Parliament. The Act still has to be published in the Belgian State Gazette and will enter into force 2 months after its publication.
Are parallel importers necessarily allowed to rebox medicines in case of visible traces from ATDs? The CJEU says NO
Pharmaceutical companies are obliged to affix an anti-tampering device (‘ATD’) on prescription-only medicines to enable verification of whether a medicine’s packaging has been tampered with. Parallel importers argue that this results in an overarching objective necessity to ‘rebox’ such medicines.
Heiploeg’s impact on Belgian insolvency law
The European Court of Justice’s (“ECJ”) Plessers judgment seemed to cause a serious threat for the applicability of the Belgian reorganisation procedure by transfer under judicial supervision, and the right of the interested buyer of the debtor’s activities to choose which particular employees it would take over. But, in the end, it has turned out to be “much ado about nothing”.
WEBINAR VIDEO | Life Sciences Session #9: Hot topics in healthcare tendering
Please join us on 28 November 2022 from 13:30 to 14:30 for our ninth online Life Sciences Session, where Caroline De Mulder and Kirian Claeyé will discuss the latest evolutions in the field of healthcare public procurement and will answer questions such as:
Can parallel importers (re)brand generic medicines? The CJEU limits the ‘room for manoeuvre’
If a branded medicine and its generic version are put on the EEA market by economically-linked undertakings, is a parallel importer then allowed to rebrand and repackage the imported generic version as the branded reference medicine? After the Brussels Court of Appeal had referred questions on this issue for a preliminary ruling two years ago, the CJEU has now clarified the limits.
New rules on medical force majeure and the medical certificate
A new Act, which includes various provisions on incapacity for work, was published in the Belgian State Gazette on 18 November 2022.
Invisible life to the rescue: European Commission facilitates approval of micro-organisms in plant protection products from 21 November 2022
Micro-organisms or microbes (e.g. bacteria, fungi or protozoa) are invisible to us but play a significant ecological role as they help to break down organic matter and produce oxygen. Some of them protect crops from pests and diseases, making them a suitable alternative to chemical-based plant protection. Given its ambition […]