The President of the Personal Data Protection Office participated in the Top Life Sciences Trends

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office, Miroslaw Wróblewski, took part in the Top Life Sciences Trends 2025 conference on the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and public administration. One of the important topics of discussion was the issue of personal data security in the field of medicine.

During the opening panel of the conference, the President of the Personal Data Protection Officegave a lecture entitled. ‘The development of new technologies and AI and the protection of personal data’, in which he gave a basic overview of the issues that European supervisory authorities and institutions face today when it comes to the impact of emerging new technologies on personal data security.

As President Miroslaw Wróblewski pointed out in this context, ‘in the medical sector, the area of personal data is extremely sensitive’, and in this respect, ‘according to all European studies, artificial intelligence (AI) is today a revolutionary change’. However, the President of the Personal Data Protection Office stressed that further European Union regulations on new technologies are emerging, but at the same time we must be aware that it will not be long before the application of AI will have to take quantum technology into account.

President Wroblewski also reminded the audience that, at this point, the sheer diversity of AI models means that more and more specific guidance is needed in this area. This is important from the perspective of problems such as secondary use of data or so-called data-driven training - and these are pressing issues in medical and pharmaceutical data.

During the speech, the President of the Personal Data Protection Office also referred to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, adopted by the Council of the EU in May 2024, as a document that points to an ethical element that should be considered in all activities of technology system administrators - this is the guiding supervisory role of humans, which means that humans are to be the end and not the means in new technologies.

President Wróblewski also discussed the activities of the Personal Data Protection Office, related, among other things, to the ongoing Polish presidency of the European Union, concerning attempts to create a single point of notification of cyber security breaches; the Personal Data Protection Office is cooperating with both the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Research and Academic Computer Network (NASK) in this regard. As also noted by the President of the Personal Data Protection Office, the Polish legislator is currently working on organising a separate oversight commission for the AI sector. Irrespective of this, the Personal Data Protection Office keeps an eye on the area of personal data at all times and pays special attention to, for example, the necessity to assess the impact of regulations on data security already at the initial stage of writing regulations or data protection risk analysis.

During the Top Trends 2025 panel, a presentation was also given by Maria Owczarek, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Personal Data Protection Office, who focused on the future of health data in the EU. As she explained, the concept of the European Health Data Space is the first EU data space defined in a specific area; its objectives include strengthening interoperability of health systems and data privacy and security (a code for the pharmaceutical sector is being developed in the EHDS). Director Owczarek also pointed out the potential risks of using electronic health data, which relate to the so-called secondary use of data in the innovation or research sector.

Maria Owczarek also recalled that health security, including digital transformation in health, is one of the seven priorities of the Polish EU Presidency.

The Top Life Sciences Trends 2025 conference was an event bringing together representatives of the pharmaceutical sector, market leaders and experts in legal, compliance, governmental affairs and market access. The meeting provided a space for dialogue between government and key industry representatives. Participants learned about upcoming regulatory changes, debated data protection issues, clinical trials, as well as reimbursement and drug distribution.