Advertising of medicinal products in CEE & SEE

We are pleased to present Wolf Theiss’ first regional guide dedicated to Life Sciences and Healthcare Law in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CEE/SEE).

Our legal experts cover 13 countries across the CEE/SEE region. In this guide, we pool together our wide-ranging legal and practical expertise to provide a 360-degree overview of medical advertising regulation in the CEE/SEE region.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the region faced a sweeping need to improve access to medicinal products. The pharmaceutical industry, regulatory bodies and stakeholders had to re-think the process of public access to medicines and devise novel channels for the supply and treatment of patients. Consequently, issues concerning the legitimacy of online promotions, direct channels to HCPs/patients, new methods of promotion (e.g. HCP portals, patient-targeted websites, etc.), online educational materials, congresses and events, among other things, have become highly
relevant and have reminded us of the challenges these topics can pose.

This guide presents practical, straight-to-the-point and handy insight into the legal framework for the advertising and promotion of medicinal products. The input of our CEE/SEE legal experts navigates between European principles and national and regional specifics, and further delves into the interplay between statutory rules on medical advertising on the one hand and a second layer of self-regulation rules introduced by industry codes of conduct on the other (e.g. the EFPIA Code of Practice and national codes of conduct). The guide also covers a handful of non-EU jurisdictions,
which each have their own specific legal requirements.

Wolf Theiss’ Healthcare and Life Sciences team numbers more than 30 lawyers across the CEE/SEE, making us one of the most integrated and comprehensive life sciences practices in the region. Our lawyers’ expertise in different legal areas of the industry gives us a strong understanding of the economic, regulatory and market environments across the region.

We hope readers find this guide practical and insightful. We would also like to thank all members of the Healthcare and Life Sciences team at Wolf Theiss who have contributed their expertise to this guide.