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Businesses operating in the life sciences sector, whether they are manufacturing medical products for onward supply or selling medical products to consumers, must ensure that such products are safe and comply with the relevant regulations.
In the UK, product safety is governed by a wide legal and regulatory framework, with certain high-risk products, such as medicines, being subject to additional rules.
For medicinal products, failure to comply with such laws and regulations can lead to:
Therefore, businesses should have a clear understanding of their legal responsibilities to the end users of the products they manufacture and bring to market and other entities in the supply chain.
Understanding those responsibilities will allow businesses to mitigate their exposure to civil (and potentially criminal) liability and minimise the risks of reputationally damaging product recalls or high-profile claims.
This article summarises some key aspects of the product liability regime relevant to the life sciences sector before considering how appropriate provisions in contracts can help manage the risks associated with product liability claims.
Statutory liability for defective products: The CPA is the principal UK legislation governing liability for defective medical products.
Under the CPA, a claimant must prove that:
In light of the above, businesses should consider:
Alongside the statutory regime governed by the CPA in respect of defective products, liability can also be incurred in respect of products under a common law claim in negligence – which would be based on the argument that the manufacturer had failed to satisfy a duty of care to the user of the product – or a claim for breach of contract brought by the buyer of the product.
Who can enforce: Legal action can be taken by enforcement agencies or consumers themselves. In the UK, Trading Standards are responsible for the majority of safety enforcement, but medicines and medical devices have their own enforcement body in the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA possess a wide range of powers under the UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002 and the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021, including the power to:
Since product liability risks are a consideration for all of the entities involved in the supply chain of medical products, it is important for any business entering into a contract relating to the manufacture and/or supply of medical products to ensure that the contractual provisions on this issue provide for an acceptable allocation of risk and exposure.
Key issues to bear in mind from the outset when considering such arrangements include:
The contractual measures discussed above can be used to mitigate product liability risks (and allocate those risks between the parties), complementing other measures used by manufacturers to control exposure, such as the use of insurance and, of course, the implementation of operational quality assurance measures to ensure that defects do not occur in the manufacturing process, and are swiftly identified and managed if they do.
We have experience in preparing model forms of agreement for use by businesses operating in the life science sector and by entities at each level of the supply chain and in negotiating such contracts for clients.
We can also advise on the obligations of manufacturers (and other supply chain participants) under the product liability and safety regimes and on handling product liability claims.
If you have any questions in relation to this article, please contact our Life Sciences Solicitors on: