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Ellie Handy

Working with companies in the life sciences and technology sectors, Ellie Handy focuses on EU, Irish, and UK life sciences regulatory and commercial matters.

Ellie advises clients on regulatory issues including classification, biologics, orphans, paediatrics, GxP, market and data exclusivity, clinical research, labelling and promotion, reporting obligations, medical devices, and digital health. Ellie also advises companies in the food, cosmetic and consumer products sectors regarding regulatory compliance and borderline issues. Ellie provides advice in relation to corporate transactions and restructuring, in particular performing regulatory due diligence.

Ellie represents and works with a wide range of clients working in the life sciences and technology sectors on both contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters.

Ellie’s pro bono work includes assisting charities. In addition to her role at Covington, Ellie spent three years working life sciences regulatory practice in London.

On October 19, 2023, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) published a set of regulatory considerations on artificial intelligence (“AI”) for health (press release and full publication).  The publication is not guidance or policy but is intended as a resource for relevant stakeholders in medical devices ecosystems, including manufacturers

Continue Reading WHO Publishes Regulatory Considerations on AI for Health

On 19 September 2023, the UK  Government announced the launch of the Innovative Devices Access Pathway (“IDAP”) pilot scheme. The UK already has in place an Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (“ILAP”) for medicines.  IDAP is the equivalent for medical devices, and is groundbreaking in the UK devices space. 

The

Continue Reading UK Government Announces Launch of Pilot Scheme to Accelerate Access to Innovative Medical Devices

On 30 August 2023, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) published detailed guidance on its recently announced new International Reliance Procedure (“IRP”) (see our prior blog and audiocast).  The IRP will apply from 1 January 2024 and will replace and significantly expand on existing EU reliance

Continue Reading Fast-Tracking Approval of Medicines – UK Publishes Detailed Guidance on its New International Recognition Procedure

Tune into this episode of Covington’s Life Sciences Audiocast, where Grant Castle, Marie Doyle Rossi, and Ellie Handy discuss the UK’s recent announcement of new international reliance routes for medicinal products and medical devices. The speakers will discuss existing EU reliance procedures offered by the UK. They

Continue Reading EU Talking Life Sciences Audiocast: The UK’s Medicinal Product and Medical Device Reliance Routes 

Hot on the heels of recent announcements from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (see our prior blogs here), the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) has joined the conversation on the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and Machine Learning (“ML”) technologies in the medicinal product lifecycle.

AI and ML have

Continue Reading EMA Releases Reflection Paper on AI/ML in the Medicinal Product Lifecycle

On 26 May 2023 the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced it plans to introduce an international reliance route for the approval of medicinal products.  This shows the UK is now looking beyond the EU in its approach to recognizing foreign marketing authorizations.  The MHRA

Continue Reading Fast-Tracking Access to New Medicines – UK Announces New International Reliance Route

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the relatively slow approval of vaccines in the EU versus other key jurisdictions, as part of the EU’s General Pharmaceutical Legislation amendment proposal, published on 26 April 2023, the European Commission has proposed to introduce temporary emergency marketing authorizations (“TEMAs”) for use when there

Continue Reading EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Temporary Emergency Marketing Authorizations

The European Commission (the “Commission”) wants to “avoid unnecessary administrative and financial burdens for applicants and competent authorities.”  As such, the Commission’s proposal for a revised Directive on the Union Code Relating to Medicinal Products for Human Use (the “Directive”) retains the Decentralized Procedure (“DCP”) and Mutual Recognition

Continue Reading EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: National MA Procedures Including the Mutual Recognition Procedure and Decentralized Procedure

The European Commission has proposed specific measures to increase the supervision and monitoring of the use of antimicrobial medicinal products (or “antimicrobials”), with the aim to counter the spread of antimicrobial resistance (“AMR”).  At the same time, the measures are also aimed at promoting and incentivizing the development of new

Continue Reading EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: AMR and Transferable Exclusivity Vouchers

On 26 April 2023, the European Commission published its long awaited proposal to revise the EU pharmaceutical legislation.  The proposal includes a new draft Regulation, which will repeal Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, the Orphan Medicines Regulation 141/2000 and the Paediatric Regulation 1901/2006.

As expected, the draft Regulation significantly shakes

Continue Reading EU Pharma Legislation Review Series: Orphan Medicines