COVID-19 Report for Life Sciences and Health Care Companies (7 - 10 December 2020)

Thursday, 10 December 2020

• The Hogan Lovells Government Relations and Public Affairs group is tracking all of the latest developments in the U.S. Congress and relevant news stories. The U.S. House passed a one-week funding extension (HR 8900) to give lawmakers more time to finalize a fiscal 2021 spending package and coronavirus relief. Tuesday night, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin offered up a $916 billion proposal to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the administration’s first attempt to get involved in the negotiations since the elections. Speaker Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rejected the offer  in a joint statement and said the original $908 billion proposal is the “best hope for a bipartisan solution.” On Wednesday morning, the bipartisan negotiators on a $908 billion COVID-19 relief package unveiled a summary of their package as they continue working out the aid for states and localities, and they said they have an agreement in principle on a six-month liability shield that would give states time to develop their own protections. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is still pushing negotiators to abandon their current efforts to negotiate the “sticking points” and instead “pass everything we agree on.” British regulators warned that people with “significant” histories of allergic reactions shouldn’t take Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine. Read about these and other updates here: 8 Dec.; 9 Dec. (Authored by Ivan Zapien)

• In recent years, "artificial intelligence" has become a buzzword in life sciences and health care as the technology has developed to create applications from drug discovery to diagnostics to therapeutics. Most recently, AI has been used in the fight against the rapid spread of COVID-19. On 1 December, members of our Life Sciences and Health Care team from around the world met with Stacy Schultz, General Counsel, Research & Development at UnitedHealth Group for a discussion on whether new legal strategies are required to harness opportunities or mitigate risks associated with AI. We summarized the conversation online here. (Authored by Jodi Scott)

• 2021 is emerging as the year of hope. News of effective COVID-19 vaccines, the promise of the U.S. actively participating in the fight against climate change, and the prospect of an overall less dramatic year than 2020 are all reasons to be optimistic. But 2021 will bring its own challenges and in the area of data protection, including challenges related to the aftermath of the struggle against the novel coronavirus. Much work lies ahead to resolve many of the complex issues that the current year has created, which will be the focus of the privacy, data protection and cybersecurity professionals’ efforts in 2021.  Online here is a select list of challenges that will surely require our attention in the coming year. (Authored by Eduardo Ustaran)

Tuesday, 8 December 2020

• On 25 November 2020, the European Commission published a proposal for a new Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe. The Strategy is built around four main objectives, each with an assigned work strand. It proposes concrete actions to ensure accessibility, availability, and affordability of innovative medicinal products. With the experience gained during COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission proposes to revise current pharmaceutical legislation to enhance security of supply and better respond to shortages of medicinal products. The proposal is also intended to support a competitive and innovative pharmaceutical industry in the EU. The Strategy also proposes actions to develop strategic autonomy in the EU, and to ensure a strong EU voice on the global stage. Read more online here. (Authored by EA Wright)

• The Hogan Lovells Government Relations and Public Affairs group is tracking all of the latest developments in the U.S. Congress and relevant news stories. President-elect Joe Biden picked his health care nominees, including California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be his health secretary and Harvard infectious disease expert, Rochelle Walensky, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Congress is weighing a weeklong stopgap measure to avoid a government shutdown after current funding runs out Friday. A one-week stopgap is likely as negotiators continue ironing out a full-year spending bill in which long-stalled coronavirus economic relief would be attached. NIH official Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday that Christmas could be worse than Thanksgiving for COVID-19 spread. The Trump administration refused to purchase more doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in the summer when the pharmaceutical company offered them. The administration is scrambling to buy more doses, but Pfizer is unsure if will be able to provide more due to its commitments to other countries. Read about these and other updates here: 3 Dec.; 4 Dec.; 7 Dec. (Authored by Ivan Zapien)

Compiled by Aaron Armstrong