No doubt you deserve the holiday break that is coming up! We wish you a peaceful time off and a fabulous new year.

Indeed, 2016 promises to be a very interesting year for life sciences.

From the business point of view, the title of Deloitte’s study says it all: “Moving forward with cautious optimism”.  Not too enthusiastic, admittedly… but the centrality of the health sector in an ageing society is expected to overcome the strictures of health spending’s decrease in mature markets.

When it comes to legislation, the European Commission has certainly grand plans for 2016.  Final language is ready for the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Directive in the Field of Law Enforcement: the new rules will have an impact on m-health and medical devices’ manufacturers in particular, as well as on European companies in general. Stay tuned! Will the Medical Device Regulation and In-Vitro Diagnostic Regulations see the light in 2016? That remains to be seen.

We hope you have enjoyed our musings on issues that lie at the intersection of law and technology in 2015: we intend to bring you more in 2016.

Warm wishes from the Life Sciences’ Team at Italy Legal Focus.