Manufacturing

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UK companies interested in producing ventilators and other critical equipment may benefit from regulatory exemptions and use government product specifications.

By Frances Stocks Allen and Oliver Mobasser

On 16 March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the UK’s leading manufacturing businesses to help the UK step up production of vital medical equipment to combat the COVID-19 crisis.[i]

With no proven COVID-19 treatment or vaccine to date, ventilators are a critical piece of equipment to help treat patients with acute symptoms of the disease. The UK industry has responded to the government’s call, with a number of companies in the aerospace and automotive sectors reportedly working on plans to lend capacity to manufacture ventilators. Meanwhile, a number of newly designed ventilators and breathing aids have reportedly gained regulatory approval and are either undergoing trials or are already subject to orders from the UK government.

[i] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-call-with-uks-leading-manufacturers-16-march-2020.

D.P.C.M. now includes measures for certain manufacturing industries, as well as call centres and civil engineering works, but excludes employment agencies.

By Giancarlo D’Ambrosio and Giovanni B. Sandicchi

By decree of the Ministry of Economic Development, adopted yesterday and in force since today, March, 26, 2020, several amendments have been made to the list annexed to the D.P.C.M. of March 22, 2020.

Specifically, from March 28 to April 3, the suspension of activities comes into force for the manufacture…

The new decree imposes measures in effect from today until April 3, 2020 to combat the spread of COVID-19.

By Giancarlo D’Ambrosio and Giovanni B. Sandicchi

Yesterday evening, the Italian government adopted a new decree (D.P.C.M. of March 22, 2020), which suspends, as of today, non-essential industrial and commercial production activities throughout the country to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Among the provisions of the Decree, the following are particularly noteworthy:

i. All industrial and commercial production activities are suspended, with the exception of those providing public utilities and essential services, as well as a series of activities considered essential and contained in a list reported under Annex 1 of the Decree, which may be supplemented by subsequent decrees. The list includes, among other activities, the entire beverage and food supply chain, the pharmaceutical healthcare devices industry, strategic industries, and related production chains. In addition, the functional activities to ensure the continuity of the authorized supply chains will also remain open, subject to notification to the Prefect of the province where the production unit is located.

ii. Functional activities to deal with the emergency are permitted, including those relating to the production, transport, marketing, and delivery of medicines, health technology, and medical-surgical devices, as well as agricultural and food products.