‘Regenerative Medicine in Europe: political conflicts, economic biases and legal loopholes’

Wednesday 27th February, 4pm – 6 pm

Room A103, Arts A Building

The life sciences and the global bioeconomy are moving ever upward in governments’ agendas, driven by visions of economic reward and a medical revolution. EU regulation moulds the international dynamics of new biomedical markets. Alex Faulkner traces developments in EU regulation, including tissue engineering, medical devices and cell therapy, and stem cell therapy, analysing debates on the collection of human materials, assessment of products for safety and market authorisation, and patenting of biotechnologies. Alex shows how the emergence of a ‘harmonised’ product regulation for ‘Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products’ masks conflicts between industry sectors, which exploit ambiguities in the definition of materials and ‘modes of action’. A case at the European Court of Justice further illustrates the politically malleable nature of regenerative cell technologies.

Dr Alex Faulkner is a Reader in Global Health Policy at the Centre for Global Health Policy, University of Sussex.  Alex is the author of Medical Technology into Healthcare and Society (Palgrave MacMillan, 2009) and is a specialist in the political sociology of biomedical regulation.                                                                                                                 

All welcome!    

To listen to Dr Faulkner's lecture, follow this link.                                 

For inquiries: jch26@sussex.ac.uk