Law Centre for Health and Life

Anniek de Ruijter, from the Law Centre for Health and Life, shares her expert analysis on the challenges and opportunities for the newly appointed EU Commissioner for Health, Olivér Várhelyi, in an interview with The Lancet’s Marianne Guenot. De Ruijter highlights Várhelyi’s legislative experience and deep understanding of EU law as key strengths for advancing critical health policies like the Critical Medicines Act and the European Biotech Act. However, she also explores the political complexity of his appointment, pointing to broader tensions with Hungarian politics that shaped the negotiations. As the EU’s influence in health regulation grows, De Ruijter stresses the importance of addressing commercial determinants of health, balancing market interests with public health priorities. Her insights offer a timely perspective on what’s needed to build a resilient and equitable EU health ecosystem under Várhelyi’s leadership. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eGKbiT_G

proud on our Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation colleagues Rosalind Turkie , Katrina Perehudoff and Jennifer Sellin, and of course co-author Aldo Sainz with this #humanrights paper!

Katrina Perehudoff from the Law Centre for Health and Life, Rosalind Turkie, Jennifer Sellin (Maastricht University), and Aldo Sainz published an article in the Journal of Human Rights Practice  (OUP), which explores a new approach to corporate accountability for high-priced medicines. Pharmaceutical companies play a critical role in access to medicines, yet they lack formal obligations under human rights law. This article leverages Dutch tort law to propose an 'unwritten duty of care' for holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for excessively priced medicines. Drawing on Human rights norms, soft law instruments, EU legislation like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and Dutch jurisprudence the authors aim to establish a legal framework ensuring fair pricing of medicines and safeguarding the global right to health. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/ed2YHZbM

Last week I spoke with @marianneguenot of the The Lancet about the new Commissioner for Health of the EU from Hungary, Olivér Várhelyi: What can we expect from this experienced EU law-maker, lawyer and civil servant, who has a long history in the EU with some spots on his record...? 🇪🇺 How can we understand his move from his portfolio in Neighbourhood and Enlargment (involving highly controversial future questions about EU-Ukraine relations) to the health portfolio? And why was all policy on the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), moved to the Belgian Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib? 🇪🇺 Together with Richard Bergstrom I am mildly positive about the ability of this Commissioner to move ahead on some health dossiers where the EU has strong powers - particularly around commercial determinants of health - where he would understand how to be smart and liaise with the EU's internal market institutions and legistation around pharma, big food, big tobacco, advertising and social media/tech - lets bring it on Europe!

Wat een feest op het 10de #JaarcongresGezondheidsrecht en dat op vrijdag de 13de 😀. Dank alle geïnteresseerde aanwezigen, sprekers en organisatoren! Tot volgend jaar! Noteer vast 12 december 2025 in de agenda... Ontspannend weekend, Rolinka

Morgen, 13 december 2024 zal Rolinka Wijne, van het Law Centre for Health and Life, optreden als dagvoorzitter en spreker tijdens het 10e Jaarcongres Gezondheidsrecht, dat plaatsvindt in het Van der Valk Hotel Utrecht. Dit jubileumcongres biedt een unieke kans om in één dag volledig op de hoogte te raken van de nieuwste ontwikkelingen en verdiepende thema's in het gezondheidsrecht.   Naast het rijke Nederlandse programma kijkt deze speciale editie ook over de grens, met inspirerende keynote sprekers en inzichten uit Vlaanderen. Een dag vol kennisuitwisseling, actuele thema’s en internationale perspectieven!   Lees hier meer over het programma: https://lnkd.in/dHcQzHi

Anniek de Ruijter, from the Law Centre for Health and Life, and Barbara Prainsack joined Rafael Cardoso on The Lancet Regional Health in Conversation with podcast. They discussed how solidarity and trust can drive meaningful and inclusive health governance in the EU. Drawing from their recent Lancet article, the episode explores challenges and opportunities for advancing EU health policies. Listen to the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/evXBQNiV More here: https://lnkd.in/eXUj-sA7

Het is bijna zover: Het 10e Jaarcongres Gezondheidsrecht in Utrecht. Komt u net als veel andere juridische professionals op vrijdag 13 december a.s. naar deze jubilieumeditie? Het doel van dit congres is om u in één dag op de hoogte te brengen van de actuele ontwikkelingen en verdiepende thema's op uw vakgebied met betrekking tot gezondheidsrecht. Tijdens deze 10e jubileumeditie nemen we ook een kijkje over de grens met inspirerende keynote sprekers en lessen uit enkele boeiende ontwikkelingen in Vlaanderen. https://lnkd.in/gMFmTUi 

On Friday, December 6, Mahsa Shabani, from the Law Centre for Health and Life, was a keynote speaker at the “Study Day Health Information and Policy” in Brussels, Belgium. The event, organized by Sciensano, focused on the theme: “How can we maximise the potential of data linkages for health policy and research?” Shabani’s presentation, “Towards the implementation of the EHDS across Member States: Expected Challenges and Opportunities,” explored critical aspects of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). Her talk highlighted the challenges and opportunities in harmonizing health data policies across EU member states.

Barbara Prainsack and I spoke to Rafael Cardoso of the The Lancet Regional Health Europe about the paper we wrote together with Tamara Hervey 🌿 About current EU health politics, the European Health Union, institutional shifs (or not) and solidarity in EU health governance. ✅ Check out the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/ebkEyTqq   or on the journal’s website as well (if you scroll down to latest audio):https://lnkd.in/e9zcYwk3