The Government's announcement of a package of proposals for consultation, which are intended to boost the country's life sciences / pharmaceuticals industry, raises some interesting legal questions.

Of most interest to many life science companies is the intended £180m of catalyst funding to assist companies in progressing medical advances to the "proof of concept" stage which will enable such companies to attract VC investment.

Other proposals include a loosening up of the licensing regime for certain drugs intended to treat serious conditions where there are relatively few options available. In our experience of advising in connection with VC investments in life science companies, one of the most difficult issues for early stage research businesses is staying afloat pending the completion of rigorous trials. Any measures designed to assist with this are surely welcome.

The proposal which has, however, attracted the most publicity is the suggestion that NHS patient records be shared anonymously with drug companies in order to enable them to identify and contact patients who may wish to participate in certain medical trials. Currently, this is prohibited under the NHS Constitution unless patients have positively consented to their records being shared in this way. The proposal is that patients are deemed to have consented unless they opt out. One can envisage potential issues surrounding the deemed consent by those who may well not have the capacity to decide whether to opt out. Query also the likely administrative costs of implementing any changes to the current regime.