Amid the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there has been a call to use innovative digital tools for the purpose of protecting public health. There are a number of proposals to embed digital solutions into the regulatory strategies adopted by public authorities to control the spread of the coronavirus more effectively. They range from algorithms to detect population movements by using telecommunications data to the use of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing power to detect patterns in the spread of the virus. However, the use of a mobile phone application for contact tracing is certainly the most popular.

This section updates readers on the latest developments in pharmaceutical law, giving information on legislation and case law on various matters (such as clinical and pre-clinical trials, drug approval and marketing authorisation, the role of regulatory agencies) and providing analysis on how and to what extent they might affect health and security of the individual as well as in industry.

This section updates readers on the latest developmentsin pharmaceutical law, giving information on legislation and case law on various matters (such as clinical and pre-clinical trials, drug approval and marketing authorisation, the role of regulatory agencies) and providing analysis on how and to what extent they might affect health and security of the individual as well as in industry.

The scientific dimension of risk regulation is obvious. It is accepted that a measure banning a pesticide is to be based on toxicology studies and in particular on the data proving harmful effects for human health or the environment. A more subtle determinant of risk regulation is the ethical dimension of the decisions adopted to control the social risks emerging from new technologies. It is in this context that a document such as the Encyclical letter Laudato Si, on care of the common home of Pope Francis could offer important reflections on how public policy on science and technology could be enriched by including an ethical perspective. The Laudato Si encyclical letter has been accompanied by wide public attention, spurred on by both the huge popularity of Pope Francis and the announced choice of devoting, for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, an entire document to environmental issues.