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Global Life Sciences & Healthcare Forum 2022 – recordings

Uncertain times, an evolving legal framework: managing risks and ensuring social responsibility in the life sciences & healthcare sector

The risks of AI in the future of life sciences came under the microscope at a landmark legal Forum in September.

Healthcare is racing ahead in adopting new technologies across drug discovery, development, manufacturing and supply chain but experts predict a tail-whip of disputes and contract friction.

Digital transformation has the potential to improve every aspect of healthcare and the pharma industry but it also impacts data protection, IT security, contract design, liability and regulation.

The annual CMS Global Life Sciences and Healthcare Forum brought together high-level industry and legal experts to discuss sector intelligence and best practice as well as issues ranging from cyber breaches and cryptocurrency wrangles to fall-outs over trade secrets and intellectual property (IP).

“AI offers amazing opportunities to advance life sciences and usher in transformative medicine such as cell and gene therapy, improved diagnostics and analytics but it also comes with concerns as legal and contractual risks are still being understood and evaluated,” says Nick Beckett, Global Co-Head of CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Sector Group

“Science and technology are moving forward very quickly but we are finding that the detail and strategy of what to do to mitigate risks or resolve them is lagging behind. These are critically important issues that companies need to address and the Forum examined the implications and solutions.”

AI is booming and a recent report by analysts Grand View Research forecast that the global AI in healthcare market will grow from its current value of $10.4 billion at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.4% from 2022 to 2030. AI is fast becoming a significant element of every aspect of healthcare and legal departments and business units are being challenged to respond.

The Forum, which was held in Brussels and online on Thursday, September 29, had a packed agenda covering technology transformation, Environmental, Sustainability and Governance, supply chain disruption, regulatory frameworks and the changing commercial landscape.

The scale of challenge was evidenced in the recent CMS Technology Transformation: Managing Risks in a Changing Landscape report which revealed that 56% of corporate counsel and risk managers expect an increase in AI-related disputes, while 50% believe that the use of AI technologies will lead to risks and disputes that cannot currently be foreseen.

Disputes will be driven by issues arising from IP and trade secrets, the use of AI, smart contracts, cryptocurrencies and cloud services, they believe.

“Organisations are likely to see new types of risks and disputes emerge from the use of new technologies such as AI and cryptocurrencies. Many businesses are playing catch-up in understanding the risks associated with these new technologies,” says Lee Gluyas, Partner, CMS. “Whilst no business can eliminate risks completely, those that think ahead, plan early and actively manage risk will give themselves a substantial advantage.”

Featured keynote speakers from the United Nations Health and Development Team, general counsel from leading pharma companies, Boston Consulting Group, financial services multinational Aon and CMS sector specialists.

Fill in the form below to access the Forum recordings and presentations

Key contact

Nick Beckett
Managing Partner
Managing Partner, Beijing and Hong Kong Offices, Head of Asia-Pacific IP and Life Sciences & Healthcare
London
T +86 10 8527 0287

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03/11/2022
The legal sector has a key role to play in global sustainability says United...
The United Nations has pledged to use its purchasing firepower to accelerate sustainability along the healthcare supply channel and called on the legal sector to support its efforts. Lawyers are critical to establishing strong regulatory frameworks and providing contractual guidance that would allow greener and more equitable practices to flourish, said a senior UN executive. Ian Milimo, project manager for the United Nations Development Programme’s regional hub for 128 nations, told the CMS Global Life Sciences & Healthcare Forum 2022, that the organisation would use its $6 billion of purchasing power to leverage improvements in healthcare. He used his keynote address to highlight that, if the healthcare sector were a country it would be the fifth largest emitter of carbon, while also praising collaborations with legal experts that empowered countries, healthcare providers and suppliers to pursue carbon zero ambitions.“We need to strengthen our contracts for goods that we procure for services.  We don't have that expertise, you have that expertise, and this is an open call for you to join us in making sure that we are championing sustainable development,” he  told the Forum of invited guests from legal, financial and healthcare sectors.“We need lawyers to sensitise citizens on their rights and responsibilities with regards to climate. We need your support, we need your expertise, we need your technical ability to ensure that governments are supported to have a win-win situation in terms of sustainable de­vel­op­ment.”Leg­al acumen will be needed to enhance access to technology, ensure privacy and security, establish regulatory frameworks and empower contract design across the healthcare supply chain. This expertise will underpin the United Nations Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector (SPS) programme which aims to encourage industry, manufacturers and suppliers to champion sustainability. The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals include healthcare where a complex landscape of law and regulations demands legal skills across areas such as Intellectual Property, risk management, AI technology disputes and economic and social re­spons­ib­il­it­ies. Lawyers are increasingly being called upon to develop policies, regulations and laws to protect the environment and public health, and have a positive impact helping emerging nations to develop sustainable practices.“We need to make sure that we wake up to this crisis that we're facing and begin to address those things that are within our means and it's very good that we are speaking to lawyers because that partnership is very important,” added Mr Milimo.“We need leadership from our politicians. We need leadership from our church and healthcare to religious institutions.  We need leadership from business.  We need leadership from lawyers, we need leadership from all angles for us to achieve what we are trying to achieve.“A partnership with an institution like CMS can only help us to move forward and can only make us have sustainable development on our agenda and we will need your help to ensure that we are supporting countries come up with very strong laws.”Dr Roland Wiring, a life sciences partner and Head of Intellectual Property at CMS Hamburg, commented: “Governance, social responsibility and environmental protection risk is of course at the core of the ESG issues that pharma companies and tech companies face.  What the UN does in this context, is impressive, and can also inspire, from our point of view both our work and the work of the clients of the industry.”
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