Confidential Pharmaceutical Data: Restricting Disclosure in Court Proceedings

Article by Richard Best, Ashurst*

Pharmaceutical companies produce a wealth of valuable and commercially sensitive information, much of which needs to be kept beyond competitors' reach. Nevertheless, a measure of disclosure is commonplace given the data and fairness requirements of regulators, codes on access to government information or freedom of information legislation, and the disclosure process in civil proceedings if a company finds itself in court. The author has addressed all but the last of these elsewhere.(1) The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the circumstances in which the disclosure in court proceedings of commercially sensitive data can be restricted, primarily from an English perspective but also by reference to Commonwealth authorities.(2) In particular, it addresses: