Transparency in Belgian Healthcare Relationships
24/10/2019
In a decision of 28 May 2019, the Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") imposed a fine of one million euros on the Belgian Order of Pharmacists (Ordre des pharmaciens/Orde der apothekers) ("OP"). According to the BCA, the OP violated competition law by applying an economic strategy aimed at hindering the market entrance and development of the MediCare-Market group.
The Federal Agency for Medicinal and Health Products ("FAMHP") recently published a circular (Circular No 646) in which it reminds hospitals that in the context of public procurement, they are bound by the rules governing the offering of financial incentives and other benefits to institutions that prescribe, supply or administer medicinal products (Art. 10 of the Medicines Act). In the circular, the FAMHP explains that it learned that an increasing number of hospitals are requesting additional benefits and incentives when issuing public tenders for the supply of medicinal products and medical devices and that the grant of such additional benefits is often an important criterion for award of the tender.
The Federal Agency for Medicinal and Health Products ("FAMHP") recently published a circular (Circular No 646) in which it reminds hospitals that in the context of public procuremen
The unavailability of certain medicines in Belgium is nothing new, and this situation is certainly not unique in Europe. However, with shortages of 428 products reported at the end of April 2019
De risico’s door de aanwezigheid van acrylamide in levensmiddelen noopten de EU tot het nemen van risicobeperkende maatregelen. Exploitanten van levensmiddelenbedrijven van bepaalde levensmiddelen (o.a. frieten, chips, koekjes, …) kregen de verplichting om tal van maatregelen te nemen. De juridische kwalificatie van acrylamide en het regime van deze maatregelen worden in deze blog toegelicht.
Following the European Falsified Medicines Directive, new safety measures entered into force in the EU on 9 February 2019 that guarantee the identification and authenticity of medicinal products and must be adopted by players in the medicinal distribution chain. The European Commission adopted this Regulation that contains detailed rules on safety measures for the packaging of drugs.
On 6 February 2019, a draft bill was submitted to the House of Representatives establishing a government agency for cannabis that would have the exclusive right to distribute medicinal cannabis.
The draft bill proposes that the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) has the authority to organise the cultivation and distribution of cannabis for medicinal use.
L'adoption ce mardi 2 octobre 2018 de la dite loi "Egalim" par l'Assemblée nationale française entraîne la suspension de l’usage du colorant alimentaire E171 dans le secteur alimentaire n’affecte pas que les entreprises françaises mais concerne aussi les entreprises étrangères, dont les entreprises belges, mettant leurs produits sur le marché français. Une entreprise contrevenante s’expose à des sanctions pénales.
In its judgment dated 7 December 2017 (case C-329/16), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) considered that software, of which at least one of the functions makes it possible to use patient-specific data for the purposes, inter alia,