Ludwik Fleck (1896-1961) is considered today as pioneer of sociological approach to studies of
science. Following his rediscovery in the 1960s and 70s philosophers, historians, sociologists
and anthropologists of science investigated Fleck's contribution to studies of "thought styles" of
scientists, the role of "proto-ideas" in science, the importance of instruments, techniques and
laboratory cultures, patterns of socialisation of scientists, or relationships between "popular science"
"textbook science" and "expert science". My paper focuses on a different -- and seldom studied --
aspect of Fleck's work: the role of regulation , and especially state regulation, in "genesis and
development of scientific facts". Fleck studied the Wassermann reaction, which was not only a "recent
medical fact", but was among the first examples of a medical technology regulated by the profession and
by the state and incorporated into legal dispositifs. This reaction I'll argue, may therefore be seen as
a paradigmatic case of a close intertwining between scientific investigations, their practical applications,
and regulatory practices. Present -time biomedicine and biotechnology industries exemplify the trend
started by the Wasserman reaction. Fleck's study can therefore contribute to reflections on the modulation
of "juridical facts" by scientific expertise, and on the parallel shaping of "scientific facts" by legal developments.

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