Manuel Durães Rocha, Partner, and Catarina Mascarenhas, Of Counsel at Abreu Advogados, discuss the reforms underway in the European health sector and their impact on the market in an interview with Jornal de Negócios. According to the lawyers, the revision of pharmaceutical legislation, together with other regulatory initiatives currently under discussion, may contribute to making the system more effective, fostering innovation and strengthening the European Union’s competitiveness in relation to economies such as the United States and China.
The lawyers also highlight the growing role of digital transformation in the healthcare sector, noting that the adoption of new technologies — including artificial intelligence and the use of health data — also raises important challenges in terms of digital literacy and data protection.
According to Manuel Durães Rocha and Catarina Mascarenhas, the level of investment required by the digitalisation of the sector may also drive a new phase of consolidation in the market. “Due to the very significant investments that digital transformation is requiring, we are likely to see merger movements between entities already operating in the market, in order to gain scale,” they note.
The interview also addresses the potential of biotechnology and the role of new partnerships between technology companies and healthcare organisations, in a context where European regulatory developments seek to create more favourable conditions for innovation, investment and growth in the sector.
