Parallel Trade in Prescription Medicines in the European Union: The Age of Reason?

In light of the economic reality, which is increasingly confirmed by relevant judicial authorities, we submit that hindering parallel trade in prescription medicines does not damage patients and national health budgets. It is therefore to be welcomed that both Community and national case law has confirmed that pharmaceutical companies are entitled to adopt measures responding to – but not prohibiting or eliminating – parallel trade, and such measures are not contrary to the EC competition rules. Parallel traders had previously been free-riding on case law which referred to sectors and cases that bore no relation to the special features of the European prescription medicines sector. To the extent there is an assumption that parallel trade in Europe safeguards intra-brand competition, the recent case law does not call this assumption into question: on the contrary, it confirms it, while noting that this assumption is inapplicable to the prescription medicines sector in Europe precisely because of that sector’s very specific features. It is therefore to be hoped that the long-running obsession of European competition law with parallel trade in prescription medicines may (at last) be coming to an end.prescription medicines, european union, competition law, market integration

Mixed-species plantations of nitrogen-fixing and non-nitrogen-fixing trees

Mixed-species plantations of eucalypts and acacias have the potential to improve stand productivity over that of respective monocultures through the facilitative effect of nitrogen-fixation by acacias, and increased resource capture through above- and belowground stratification. However, growth in mixed-species plantations may not be improved compared to that of monocultures when competitive interactions outweigh the effects of improved nutrient availability and resource capture. Careful selection of sites and species is therefore critical to successfully improving stand productivity using mixed-species plantations. This study set out to examine some of the processes and interactions that occur in mixed-species plantations, and the effect nutrient and water availability can have on the growth of mixtures. ¶ In three out of four mixed-species field trials examined in this study, growth was not increased in mixtures compared to monocultures. However, in the fourth field trial, heights, diameters, stand volume and aboveground biomass were higher in mixtures of E. globulus and A. mearnsii from 3-4 years after planting. ¶ ..

Change management within an enterprise-wide packaged software implementation

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the Degree of Masters of CommerceInvestments in information technology have in many cases failed to deliver the anticipated benefits. It is now accepted that real value can only be leveraged by linking IT implementation to organisational change and process redesign. The management of this change is inextricably linked to the overall success of the implementation. The focus of the research was on identifying what the key elements of successful change management were. Research into generic change management was used as a basis for determining these critical success factors. The applicability of these factors in the case of an enterprise wide package software implementation was then tested through a case study method. The research showed that the factors developed were applicable in managing technology driven change. In addition to the factors developed, additional factors were identified as being relevant in the case of packaged software implementations.Andrew Chakane 201

Disruptive innovation and implications for competition policy

While competition is good for consumers and economies, competition rules alone cannot necessarily produce adequate outcomes for all circumstances. Other norms, particularly regulatory norms, are also often likely to be relevant. The current legal and policy debates about ‘disruptive innovation’ highlight the need for a healthy mixture of competition and regulation. This paper offers a series of reflections arising from the challenges posed by disruptive products, services and business models. These reflections cover matters such as the capacity of legal procedures to keep pace with rapidly changing market environments. Competition advocacy can help regulators decide controversial points. The paper discusses several sectors, such as the car-riding and overnight sleeping sectors, in which different interests must simultaneously be accommodated within the boundaries of national tradition and European Union law. As discussed, some of these matters have now been adjudicated by the EU Courts. The related subjects of the acquisition of data as well as the requirements of privacy and data protection principles are also considered. The paper reflects on the role of network effects and on the difficult choices to be made with regard to the wisdom of relying on competition law or on the nature of innovation itself to deliver appropriate responses to the growth of network-based economic power; and the paper notes but does not suggest a remedy for the problem of delay as inimical to effective judicial review

Human data interaction through design:An explorative step from theory to practice using design as a vehicle

The increasing use of personal data and AI in everyday technologies has resulted in the amplification of complex and intertwined socio-technical challenges. These, often exemplified by data abuse, breaches, and exploitation, must be alleviated to support sustainable, resilient and human-centred data economies and positive global innovation. Here, we turn towards Human-Data Interaction, an interdisciplinary branch of research, inspired by HCI, that brings together diverse siloed perspectives to present three holistic response principles: data legibility, negotiability and agency. But, the emergent nature of this field calls for refinement of these theoretical tenets to help them translate into practical and tangible responses that are embedded in the technologies we create. We propose this workshop as a foundational step towards this agenda by opening these principles to the CHI community to encourage critique and dialogue about the strengths, weaknesses, value and opportunities of incorporating HDI into the design and evaluation of technology. The outcomes of this workshop, by engaging with HDI through Design, will form the basis for the next stages of research within HDI by contributing to foundational texts within academia and implementing HDI-infused systems within industry

Parallel Trade in Prescription Medicines in the European Union: The Age of Reason?

In light of the economic reality, which is increasingly confirmed by relevant judicial authorities, we submit that hindering parallel trade in prescription medicines does not damage patients and national health budgets. It is therefore to be welcomed that both Community and national case law has confirmed that pharmaceutical companies are entitled to adopt measures responding to – but not prohibiting or eliminating – parallel trade, and such measures are not contrary to the EC competition rules. Parallel traders had previously been free-riding on case law which referred to sectors and cases that bore no relation to the special features of the European prescription medicines sector. To the extent there is an assumption that parallel trade in Europe safeguards intra-brand competition, the recent case law does not call this assumption into question: on the contrary, it confirms it, while noting that this assumption is inapplicable to the prescription medicines sector in Europe precisely because of that sector’s very specific features. It is therefore to be hoped that the long-running obsession of European competition law with parallel trade in prescription medicines may (at last) be coming to an end

Parallel Trade in Prescription Medicines in the European Union: The Age of Reason?

In light of the economic reality, which is increasingly confirmed by relevant judicial authorities, we submit that hindering parallel trade in prescription medicines does not damage patients and national health budgets. It is therefore to be welcomed that both Community and national case law has confirmed that pharmaceutical companies are entitled to adopt measures responding to – but not prohibiting or eliminating – parallel trade, and such measures are not contrary to the EC competition rules. Parallel traders had previously been free-riding on case law which referred to sectors and cases that bore no relation to the special features of the European prescription medicines sector. To the extent there is an assumption that parallel trade in Europe safeguards intra-brand competition, the recent case law does not call this assumption into question: on the contrary, it confirms it, while noting that this assumption is inapplicable to the prescription medicines sector in Europe precisely because of that sector’s very specific features. It is therefore to be hoped that the long-running obsession of European competition law with parallel trade in prescription medicines may (at last) be coming to an end

Physical playlist:bringing back the mix-tape

To those of a certain age the concept of the mix-tape holds fond memories, and generally not of the musical content they contained, but rather the emotional and physical connection they represented with either its creator or recipient. They provided an embodiment of the time and effort it its creation and thus presented the same qualities of other handmade gifts. The advent of digital content, and particularly the mp3, for storage and streaming meant that audio content could be shared more quickly and easily than ever before. However, the creation of a digital playlist does not embody the same qualities present in a mix-tape and thus has not gained the same cultural significance. This research re-imagines the mix-tape for digital content as physical customizable jewellery that can once again embody values not generally attributed to digital content. Through a discussion of the design process and the results of preliminary evaluation, the potential benefits on the user experience of sharing digital content through physical objects have been highlighted