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Giulia Romana Mele

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Giulia Romana Mele is an associate specializing in life sciences and data protection matters. She advises pharmaceutical, medtech and technology companies on a wide range of matters. Given her interdisciplinary background, she has particular expertise in matters that combine pharmaceutical and data protection angles, including R&D, clinical trials, medical devices and digital health technologies.

Giulia Romana also has experience in commercial transactions and in negotiating agreements for pharmaceutical and technology companies, including CRO, clinical trial, distribution and vendor agreements.

On technology issues, Giulia Romana further provides strategic advice to global companies on complying with EU, UK, and Italian data protection laws, with a focus on marketing and the AdTech environment.

Contact: Read more about Giulia Romana MeleEmail

On 1st August 2022, the Italian Competition Authority (“AGCM”) published its decision where it ruled that the NutriScore labelling must be discontinued in Italy because it deceives consumers.  The authority further held that products meant for the French market, where the NutriScore is allowed, and which are distributed also on the Italian market may keep the NutriScore labelling provided that this is sufficiently substantiated.    …

Continue Reading NutriScore Halted In Italy As Italian Competition Authority Deems It Misleading

On 14 July 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a Regulation on “substances of human origin” (“SoHO”) intended for human application.  The proposed Regulation is intended to replace the existing and largely outdated Directives on SoHO, respectively on Blood and on Tissues and Cells.  These sets of rules govern the sourcing and use of starting materials for innovative therapies, such as blood, tissues and cells.  Pharmaceutical companies active in the manufacturing of advanced therapy medicinal products (“ATMPs”) are therefore well advised to closely monitor the developments surrounding the proposed Regulation.…

Continue Reading European Commission to Harmonize Rules on the use of Substances of Human Origin

On 31 May 2022, the Italian Parliament approved Law 62/2022, also known as the Sunshine Act.  The Sunshine Act entered into force on 26 June 2022.  However, it will become fully enforceable once the Ministry of Health sets up the Public Register where companies will have to disclose their data and issues the necessary implementing acts.  This means that realistically the new transparency system will not be operational before 2023.  Nonetheless, it is critical that companies operating in Italy make sure that they are ready when the time comes.  Here, we outline some of the key features of the new Sunshine Act and the steps that companies could take in preparation.…

Continue Reading The New Italian Sunshine Act: What Companies Should Know And How To Get Ready

In collaboration with Corporate Law Group, New Delhi, India 

On December 16, 2021, India proposed amendments to the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (the “BDA”) by introducing the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (the “Bill”).  The process to amend the BDA was undertaken in response to long-standing complaints by stakeholders in the Indian systems of medicine, seeds, and research sectors, as well as industry, that existing access and benefit-sharing (“ABS”) processes in relation to Indian biological resources are too burdensome.

The Bill has several objectives.  It seeks to attract foreign investment in Indian biological resources, to fast-track research, patent application processes, and transfer of research results, and to decriminalize non-compliance.  The Bill also seeks to further the conservation of biological resources in line with objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”) and Nagoya Protocol to the CBD, to encourage cultivation of medicinal plants, and to support the Indian system of medicines.

The Bill’s proposed amendments are extensive and touch on many different aspects of ABS, but focus mainly on access and access procedures.  In this blog, we present the key proposed amendments, as well as next steps in the process for the adoption of the Bill.…

Continue Reading India To Amend Its Biodiversity Rules

The Italian Legislative Decree 196/2021 (“Italian Decree”) implementing the Single-Use Plastic Directive (“SUPD”) will enter into force on January 14, 2022.  The Italian Decree diverges from the SUPD on significant aspects: it provides a more flexible definition of plastic; delays the entry into force of the ban on prohibited SUPs; and exempts from such ban specific biodegradable and compostable materials.  The Decree also imposes specific return obligations on waste plastic bottles. While the Italian Decree provides companies with additional flexibilities to market their SUPs in Italy, companies should carefully assess the risks that may arise if EU Courts finally hold that the Decree is not compatible with EU law.
Continue Reading Italy Transposes Into National Law The EU Single-Use Plastic Products Directive

On May 24, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it singed an MoU with Switzerland to host the WHO’s first BioHub Facility, which is part of the new BioHub System first announced at the World Health Assembly in November 2020.

The stated purpose of the WHO BioHub is to set up a system that guarantees the timely sharing of biological material (e.g., clinical samples, specimens, isolates, cultures) for emerging pathogens, so as to ensure their faster identification and characterization and enable risk assessments and the rapid development of countermeasures (e.g., vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics).…

Continue Reading WHO Launches Global BioHub for Pathogen Sharing