Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Part 1

By Shantanu Mukherjee and Hrishika Girijan   INTRODUCTION OpenAI’s[1] chatbot, ChatGPT, has been the talk of the tech town for over a week. More than a million people signed up to test it, and hundreds of screenshots of ChatGPT conversations went viral soon after. Since then, it’s been called a Google[2] Killer, banned by the popular programming forum Stack […]

Health Data Privacy: Why the Law Matters

By Shantanu Mukherjee and Amruth Rao[1]   On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), and held that the American Constitution does not confer upon its citizens the right to abortion. In doing so, the Court allowed the states […]

Oracle, Cerner, and The Quest For Healthcare Data

Shantanu Mukherjee and Amruth Rao[1]   On 7th June 2021, Oracle announced that it had completed the acquisition of Cerner in a USD 28.3 billion, all-cash deal. Oracle, the world’s second-largest software company by revenue, is best known for its database software products and cloud services. Cerner, the second-largest healthcare IT company in the U.S. […]

Fitness Wearables and the Law: Part 2

By Shantanu Mukherjee and Anushka Iyer RECAP OF PART 1 The use of wearable devices capable of identifying key human biomarkers (e.g. blood pressure and oxygen levels) sharply accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic. The deadly coronavirus came as an unpleasant reminder of the human body’s frailty and triggered a desire among many to lead healthier […]

Is Your Watch FDA Approved? Fitness Wearables and the Law: Part 1

by Shantanu Mukherjee and Anushka Iyer* on May 20, 2022   INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic led to the evolution and adoption of technology at an unprecedented pace in the Lifesciences industry, to the point where much of what would have been considered science fiction a few years ago is now close to reality. Consider how […]

The Regulation of Telemedicine: A Global Comparative Analysis

by Shantanu Mukherjee and Vatsala Sood[i]   INTRODUCTION Telemedicine usage spiked early in the COVID-19 Pandemic as consumers and providers sought safe ways to access and deliver healthcare. The healthcare profession had to react swiftly to deal with the social distancing measures put in place to assist flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections. At the […]

An Overview of Healthtech Regulation in India: Part 2

RECAP OF PART 1 The pandemic has catalysed an unprecedented degree of interest in digital health and ‘healthtech’, in terms of products and services being offered, patient/consumer adoption and investor appetite. Yet, predictably, legislation has failed to keep up with the breakneck pace of growth in this young industry. For now, the healthtech ecosystem is […]

An Overview of Healthtech Regulation in India: Part 1

INTRODUCTION The Covid-19 pandemic exacted a brutal toll in two seemingly interminable years, between 2020 and 2021, and continues to affect lives, livelihood and economic damage. Those who have been infected (a number that likely accounts for a majority of our population at this point) and survived continue to struggle with lingering, sometimes inexplicable symptoms, […]

Oxygen and the Pandemic: FAQs for Corporates

India’s oxygen needs shot up exponentially (over 10x) during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2021, mandating significant changes in the regulation of manufacture, import and distribution of medical oxygen. Consequently, notifications were issued by various departments of the Government around its production, supply, import, usage, taxation and pricing. Industrial usage of […]

The Politics of President Biden’s Support for the TRIPS Waiver Proposal

To anyone familiar with the global pharmaceutical industry’s considerable political influence, President Joe Biden’s announcement on May 5, 2021, that the US intended to support the TRIPS waiver proposal, must have seemed like a startling change of tune. President Biden’s statement was followed by a similarly unexpected statement from the European Commission (EU)’s head the […]