Law

First, as you know, we’ve been interested in the innovative potential of 3D printing – particularly of medical devices, but drugs, too.  Our posts on the potentially disruptive effects of 3D printing on traditional product liability categories are available here.

Reed Smith, with Bexis co-authoring the tort liability chapter, has now released the most extensive “white paper” on 3D printing legal issues that we’ve seen to date.  If there’s anything better out there, we haven’t seen it.  It’s called “3D Printing of Medical Devices: When a Novel Technology Meets Traditional Legal Principles,” and it has chapters on the following topics.  (1) Regulatory Issues, (2) Intellectual Property, (3) Tort Liability, (4) Environmental Effects and Health Risks in the Work Place, (5) Insurance Issues, (6) Reimbursement, and (7) Litigation.  Those of us on the Reed Smith side are committed to keeping this white paper current in light of new developments in this fast moving field.  Medical devices have been ahead of drugs in adopting the novel technology, but we expect we’ll cover the latter as they develop as well.

Like the blog, the Reed Smith 3D printing white paper is free to all comers.  A more detailed description can be found here, and the whole white paper is available here.

Second, the Dechert side of the blog – Michelle Yeary – is co-chairing a conference called “Drug and Device Defense − Emerging Litigation & Regulatory Developments.”  Also participating is  as well a former Dechert blogger Will Sachse.  Unlike the blog, this conference is only open to the folks on our side, being billed as a “defense-only conference on drug and device litigation and regulation.”  That means the presenters will be able to discuss things that we don’t talk about on the blog because we don’t want to give the other side any bright ideas.

The topics at Michelle’s conference include:  (1) The relationship between in-house and outside counsel; (2) Developments relating to labeling and promotion of brands and generics; (3) Best practices in handling government investigations; (4) State of mass tort litigation today; (5) Matters to watch in 2016 and beyond; (6) Emerging issues such as 3D printing of medical devices; and (7) Ethical issues for lawyers in litigation.

If you’re interested in this conference, you can sign up here.  Unlike the blog, it isn’t free (except to in-house types), but rather costs $795.  The conference will occur on October 20, 2015, all day from 8:30 through 5:30, at the Hub Cira Center in Philadelphia at 2929 Arch St. − that’s the shiny glass building behind the 30th Street train station.