The Society for Law and the Biosciences combines legal theory with practical applications in biotechnology
Key words and practices – life-sciences, biotech, biotechnology law, new drug development, FDA, EMEA, regulatory law and practice, intellectual property, patents, copyrights, trade-marks, CRISPR, Medical device development, Assisted Reproduction and Genetic Engineering, Bioethics, and Patent Litigation, Grant Writing and Research, nanotechnology and synthetic biology; academic-industry relationships; protection of human subjects in research and institutional review of clinical trials; data privacy, security issues, and SEC offerings.
Because biotechnology law addresses new and developing technologies, biotech attorneys may work on ethical and constitutional issues that relate to both development and use of new technologies. Biotech attorneys may even be called on to advocate to lawmakers to allow certain technologies or uses of technology. For example, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 was widely debated before being signed into law.
Biotech attorneys may be called on to litigate the constitutional implications of biotechnology law. An example of biotech constitutional litigation is Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. Eschenbach, 495 F.3d 695 (D.C.Cir. 2007). In that case, the courts had to answer the question of whether individuals with illnesses, have a constitutional right to access experimental medicines, if the medicines aren’t yet proven to be both safe and effective. In that case, the court decided that there is no constitutional right for an individual to have experimental medicine. We will also be examining the new “Right to Try Act”, signed into law in May 2018, which again attempts to give terminally ill patients access to the newest unapproved drugs.
International Opportunities
Biotechnology doesn’t just happen in the United States. In fact, all key countries have their very own FDA or EMEA as in Europe, which is the legal and regulatory frameworks for successful approvals and subsequent penetration into these new, off-shore, multi-billion-dollar markets! In addition, many biotech companies have a presence in multiple countries. If you enjoy travel, speak a foreign language or want the opportunity to influence laws on an international scale, you might enjoy biotechnology law.
A Growing Industry
Biotechnology law is an exciting area of practice that can both improve the quality of life for people and benefit society. At the National Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Center for Law and Biotechnology, we believe that with the new discovery of the cancer stem cell, new ways must be developed in looking at breast cancer research. New disruptive technologies must be discovered, and investigators must pursue alternative and illusive cures on a completely new branch of cancer research, which no other scientists have journeyed before! As our scientists go forward slowly and cautiously into this dark and unknown frontier, new legal questions and challenges will quickly appear. This reality, is surely coming and must be anticipated, if we are to prevail. After all, so many people’s lives will be touched by the success of our great work.
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