Welcome to Pharma and Biotech Patent Litigation 2025
This is Europe’s premier event for life sciences IP professionals. This January, join over 450 industry experts as we dive deep into the most pressing challenges and innovations in contentious IP law. Across three days of focused discussions and networking, you’ll gain valuable insights into the latest case law, regulatory updates, and strategic litigation approaches, while connecting with key stakeholders who drive the future of life sciences IP.
New for 2025
This year's summit will proudly host the industry's inaugural Women in IP workshop during our UPC Litigation Forum, featuring targeted workshop discussions. Additionally, we are introducing specialized and intimate litigation sessions tailored for the MedTech, large molecule, and small molecule sectors.
Why Should You Attend?
Elevate your patent litigation strategy by gaining insights into pressing legal challenges facing the life sciences sector. At this premier event, you'll dissect the first UPC decision on the merits, delve into the intricacies of SPCs and patentability issues, and explore the latest developments in cross-border case law and competition law.
Join Europe’s leading life science IP litigation professionals at the Beurs Van Berlage this January, where you'll engage in a cross-industry UPC Litigation Forum on January 20th, followed by a comprehensive summit focused on pharma and biotech patent litigation on January 21-22nd. This event offers a unique opportunity to forge essential commercial relationships with top stakeholders in the field, ensuring you're equipped to navigate the evolving landscape of life science IP litigation.
Highlights For 2025
Stay ahead of the curve with insights into the latest life science litigation, including cross-border cases, biosimilars, vaccines, and SPCs.
Gain actionable knowledge on the UPC’s impact on the life sciences sector, featuring industry-focused panels and a pre-event forum for practical, cross-industry discussions.
Engage in targeted, in-depth discussions with tracked sessions on MedTech, Large Molecule, and Small Molecule patent litigation.
Explore key updates and challenges in divisional patenting, PIs, second medical use, G2/21, and the Bolar exemption from top pharma and biotech IP specialists.
Gain unique insights into judicial perspectives through our global judges panel and the pre-event UPC Litigation Forum.
Here Is What Your Peers Envision For The 2025 Edition Of This Event
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LIFE SCIENCES PATENT ADVISORY BOARD
Dr. Leslie Fischer
Leslie Fischer is a Principal Patent Attorney at Sandoz, who focuses on global IP strategy for biosimilars. Before joining Sandoz, Leslie was a patent attorney at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she worked for over a decade developing global patent portfolios for biologicals. Before joining the Novartis group, Leslie was an associate at Fitzpatrick Cella (NY) (now Venable). Leslie holds a J.D. from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Thomas Jefferson University. Her scientific work appears in JCB, JBC, and Osteoarthritis & Cartilage. She speaks frequently at patent-related events and is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School.
Christof Bull
Mathilde Rauline
Mathilde is a European patent attorney, is qualified as a French patent attorney, and is admitted to the Paris bar.
She is head of Greater Europe patent litigation at Sanofi, after having been a patent litigator in private practice (mostly in the pharmaceutical field), and a patent attorney in the industry (Sanofi, Nestlé).
She has extensive experience in pharmaceutical and life-science patent litigation in France, at the EPO, in Europe, and in Eurasia.
Her expertise also comprises contractual matters, settlements, regulatory aspects, and the SPC regulation.
Lorenz Kallenbach
Lorenz Kallenbach is a senior corporate patent counsel in the healthcare division of Merck KGaA. He is responsible for defining and executing the IP strategy for innovator projects. Including the assessment of the IP landscape, coordination of worldwide patent litigation, and portfolio development.
Before joining Merck, Lorenz worked in private practice. He is qualified as a German and European patent attorney.
Lorenz studied biochemistry and received a Ph.D. in the field of epigenetics.
Stephan Kutik
Ewan Nettleton
Tessa M. Malamud-Cohen
Paki Banky
Corinna Sundermann
Frank Landolt
Frank Landolt is Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Legal at Confo Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical start-up based in Ghent, Belgium specializing in GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
After studying chemistry and law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, Frank worked for almost ten years on pharmaceutical and biotechological patents and licensing in private practice in the Netherlands, where his clients included major pharmaceutical companies as well as some of the top biotech firms and research institutions in the Netherlands.
Prior to joining Confo in 2018, Frank worked for fifteen years in Ablynx N.V. (now a wholly owned Sanofi company), where he was a member of the management team and headed an integrated IP and legal group of four lawyers and five patent professionals. At Ablynx, Frank was involved in negotiating Ablynx’s strategic partnerships and licensing deals with AbbVie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Wyeth.
From 2000 to 2004, Frank was director of IP and legal counsel at Devgen N.V. (now part of Syngenta), another Ghent-based biotechnology company, where he was involved in negotiating Devgen’s strategic collaborations with Sumitomo, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.
Frank is a Dutch and European patent attorney, and also holds a degree in business law from the University of Antwerp. He is a member of the Dutch association of patent attorneys (where he is a tutor for the professional qualification course), EPI and LES Benelux (where he is involved in the LES Licensing Course). He is a regular speaker on a range of topics relating to IP and licensing in the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. Frank was named as one of Managing IP’s ‘Corporate IP stars’ for four years in a row (2015-2018).
Guido Pontremoli
Currently employed as global Head of the IP department-Patent at Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, managing and coaching a team of experienced patent attorneys, patent searchers and administrators, working on the protection, enforcement, litigation and/or opposition of the Chiesi IP, aligned with business decisions.
Before joining Chiesi, I worked in IP groups of big pharma companies (GSK Vaccine, and Bracco Imaging) as senior patent attorney responsible for all the IP aspects concerning some key R&D projects. I also had experience as patent counsel in private practices, dealing with pharma, chemical and bio entities.
Graduated in chemistry from the Univ of Milan, with a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a post-doc experience in USA, I am qualified EPA and chartered Italian patent attorney.
Kristin Cooklin
Toni Santamaria
Toni has been leading the Intellectual Property team at Adalvo since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in different pharmaceutical companies where he has been involved in developing and implementing complex patent and data exclusivity litigation strategies for several generics and added value products, including leading parallel litigation cases in multiple European countries. He also has experience in patent and trademark prosecution.
Toni qualified as European Patent Attorney in 2010 and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
Shohta Ueno
Adrian Spillmann
Julia Pike
Since March 2020, Julia has been the Global Head of IP for Sandoz. In her previous roles with Sandoz, she has had a leading role in the first wave of US biosimilars litigation, including the first litigations on critical aspects of the governing legislation (the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act or BPCIA), culminating in the landmark US Supreme Court decision, Sandoz v Amgen.
Since leaving private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Julia has been in-house counsel for many years including at Mayne Pharma and Hospira Inc before joining Sandoz in 2008. While there, she has taken on roles in European public affairs and led Sandoz’s global IP litigation function as Global Head of IP Litigation. Through those roles, she has maintained a keen interest in IP strategy and litigation worldwide, including cases arising under the Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA legislation in the US, PM(NOC) regulations in Canada and litigation arising from patent linkage systems around the world.
Christoph Rehfuess
Philip Caramanica
Dr. Leslie Fischer
Leslie Fischer is a Principal Patent Attorney at Sandoz, who focuses on global IP strategy for biosimilars. Before joining Sandoz, Leslie was a patent attorney at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she worked for over a decade developing global patent portfolios for biologicals. Before joining the Novartis group, Leslie was an associate at Fitzpatrick Cella (NY) (now Venable). Leslie holds a J.D. from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Thomas Jefferson University. Her scientific work appears in JCB, JBC, and Osteoarthritis & Cartilage. She speaks frequently at patent-related events and is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School.
Christof Bull
Mathilde Rauline
Mathilde is a European patent attorney, is qualified as a French patent attorney, and is admitted to the Paris bar.
She is head of Greater Europe patent litigation at Sanofi, after having been a patent litigator in private practice (mostly in the pharmaceutical field), and a patent attorney in the industry (Sanofi, Nestlé).
She has extensive experience in pharmaceutical and life-science patent litigation in France, at the EPO, in Europe, and in Eurasia.
Her expertise also comprises contractual matters, settlements, regulatory aspects, and the SPC regulation.
Lorenz Kallenbach
Lorenz Kallenbach is a senior corporate patent counsel in the healthcare division of Merck KGaA. He is responsible for defining and executing the IP strategy for innovator projects. Including the assessment of the IP landscape, coordination of worldwide patent litigation, and portfolio development.
Before joining Merck, Lorenz worked in private practice. He is qualified as a German and European patent attorney.
Lorenz studied biochemistry and received a Ph.D. in the field of epigenetics.
Stephan Kutik
Ewan Nettleton
Tessa M. Malamud-Cohen
Paki Banky
Corinna Sundermann
Frank Landolt
Frank Landolt is Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Legal at Confo Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical start-up based in Ghent, Belgium specializing in GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
After studying chemistry and law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, Frank worked for almost ten years on pharmaceutical and biotechological patents and licensing in private practice in the Netherlands, where his clients included major pharmaceutical companies as well as some of the top biotech firms and research institutions in the Netherlands.
Prior to joining Confo in 2018, Frank worked for fifteen years in Ablynx N.V. (now a wholly owned Sanofi company), where he was a member of the management team and headed an integrated IP and legal group of four lawyers and five patent professionals. At Ablynx, Frank was involved in negotiating Ablynx’s strategic partnerships and licensing deals with AbbVie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Wyeth.
From 2000 to 2004, Frank was director of IP and legal counsel at Devgen N.V. (now part of Syngenta), another Ghent-based biotechnology company, where he was involved in negotiating Devgen’s strategic collaborations with Sumitomo, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.
Frank is a Dutch and European patent attorney, and also holds a degree in business law from the University of Antwerp. He is a member of the Dutch association of patent attorneys (where he is a tutor for the professional qualification course), EPI and LES Benelux (where he is involved in the LES Licensing Course). He is a regular speaker on a range of topics relating to IP and licensing in the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. Frank was named as one of Managing IP’s ‘Corporate IP stars’ for four years in a row (2015-2018).
Guido Pontremoli
Currently employed as global Head of the IP department-Patent at Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, managing and coaching a team of experienced patent attorneys, patent searchers and administrators, working on the protection, enforcement, litigation and/or opposition of the Chiesi IP, aligned with business decisions.
Before joining Chiesi, I worked in IP groups of big pharma companies (GSK Vaccine, and Bracco Imaging) as senior patent attorney responsible for all the IP aspects concerning some key R&D projects. I also had experience as patent counsel in private practices, dealing with pharma, chemical and bio entities.
Graduated in chemistry from the Univ of Milan, with a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a post-doc experience in USA, I am qualified EPA and chartered Italian patent attorney.
Kristin Cooklin
Toni Santamaria
Toni has been leading the Intellectual Property team at Adalvo since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in different pharmaceutical companies where he has been involved in developing and implementing complex patent and data exclusivity litigation strategies for several generics and added value products, including leading parallel litigation cases in multiple European countries. He also has experience in patent and trademark prosecution.
Toni qualified as European Patent Attorney in 2010 and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
Shohta Ueno
Adrian Spillmann
Julia Pike
Since March 2020, Julia has been the Global Head of IP for Sandoz. In her previous roles with Sandoz, she has had a leading role in the first wave of US biosimilars litigation, including the first litigations on critical aspects of the governing legislation (the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act or BPCIA), culminating in the landmark US Supreme Court decision, Sandoz v Amgen.
Since leaving private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Julia has been in-house counsel for many years including at Mayne Pharma and Hospira Inc before joining Sandoz in 2008. While there, she has taken on roles in European public affairs and led Sandoz’s global IP litigation function as Global Head of IP Litigation. Through those roles, she has maintained a keen interest in IP strategy and litigation worldwide, including cases arising under the Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA legislation in the US, PM(NOC) regulations in Canada and litigation arising from patent linkage systems around the world.
Christoph Rehfuess
Philip Caramanica
Register Your Interest for 2025
5 Reasons To Register Your Interest For The 2026 Edition:
STAY AHEAD OF PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION TRENDS: Learn the latest developments to secure the right remedies for your cases.
MASTER STRATEGIES FOR THE UNIFIED PATENT COURT: Gain first-hand insights into navigating Europe’s new patent litigation arena.
NAVIGATE COMPETITION LAW IN PATENT DISPUTES: Explore divisional patenting, SEP, and FRAND issues to strengthen your case strategies.
SHARPEN YOUR TECH PATENT LITIGATION SKILLS: Dive into AI, trade secrets, licensing, and SEP/FRAND enforcement topics to refine your approach
ENHANCE YOUR PHARMA AND BIOTECH EXPERTISE: Tackle key topics like second medical uses, equivalence, biosimilars, and SPC litigation.
Download Full Agenda
Our 2024 Speakers
Agathe Michel-De-Cazotte
Andras Kupecz
Andrew Hutchinson
Beat Weibel
Beatriz Diaz de Escauriaza
Carsten Richter
Cecile Teles
Cecile is Head Patent Attorney at Zentiva. She has over a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Cecile is uniquely experienced and knowledgeable in the pharma space as she has experience in-house at an elite innovator company (Sanofi), biologics (Merck Serono), and extensive generic experience she gained as Zentiva.
Cecile is an enthusiastic manager of her team and was a key member of the IP team in leading the transformation of Zentiva into an independent and competitive generic company after divestment from Sanofi.
Cecile is a qualified European Patent Attorney. She also holds a certificate from CEIPI in patent litigation and most recently completed her diploma as a Master of Laws in France.
Christoph Rehfuess
Christopher Sharp
Clemens Heusch
Conrad Eckhardt
Conrad practices in the IP field for more than 20 years and gained experience across various industries. Having started with Consumer Products at Procter & Gamble he moved on to Pharmaceuticals at Boehringer Ingelheim and is now active in the medical device field, first as Chief IP Counsel at Leica Biosystems and currently as Chief IP Counsel at Biotronik. Conrad is a European Patent Attorney and a European Patent Litigator and has patent litigation experience in Germany, the USA and China.
Edgar Brinkman
Mr. Brinkman finished a chemistry degree in 1993, specialising in biochemistry, and law degree in 1995 at Utrecht University in The Netherlands. After joining the bar that same year as a solicitor/barrister in Amsterdam focusing on patents and regulatory affairs, he was appointed judge at the Court of The Hague, IP department in 2002. He became a senior judge in 2007. He has been involved in many patent and other IP cases and speaks regularly on international conferences. He is co-editor of a leading Dutch IP magazine (BIE).
Eleanor Root
Emily Bottle
Filip De Corte
Filip De Corte is Head of Intellectual Property at Syngenta Crop Protection, leading patent attorneys based in Switzerland, the UK, the US, The Netherlands and China. Filip joined Syngenta on October 1, 2013. Until then, he held the position of Chief IP Counsel Europe at Cargill (2008 – 2013). Before joining Cargill in 2008, he worked in the Johnson & Johnson patent department, working in Beerse with Janssen Pharmaceutica (1991-2004), New Brunswick (2004-2007), and Brussels (2007-2008). Filip has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, he is a qualified European Patent Attorney and passed the US patent bar exam. He has the qualification of European Patent Litigation from the University of Strasbourg. He also has an MBA of the Vlerick School of Management. Filip taught patent law in Antwerp under the auspices of CEIPI (Université de Strasbourg) as well as at the University of Leuven in the IPR management course and is a lecturer in the CEIPI patent litigation course.
Filipe Pedro
Frank Landolt
Frank Landolt is Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Legal at Confo Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical start-up based in Ghent, Belgium specializing in GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
After studying chemistry and law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, Frank worked for almost ten years on pharmaceutical and biotechological patents and licensing in private practice in the Netherlands, where his clients included major pharmaceutical companies as well as some of the top biotech firms and research institutions in the Netherlands.
Prior to joining Confo in 2018, Frank worked for fifteen years in Ablynx N.V. (now a wholly owned Sanofi company), where he was a member of the management team and headed an integrated IP and legal group of four lawyers and five patent professionals. At Ablynx, Frank was involved in negotiating Ablynx’s strategic partnerships and licensing deals with AbbVie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Wyeth.
From 2000 to 2004, Frank was director of IP and legal counsel at Devgen N.V. (now part of Syngenta), another Ghent-based biotechnology company, where he was involved in negotiating Devgen’s strategic collaborations with Sumitomo, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.
Frank is a Dutch and European patent attorney, and also holds a degree in business law from the University of Antwerp. He is a member of the Dutch association of patent attorneys (where he is a tutor for the professional qualification course), EPI and LES Benelux (where he is involved in the LES Licensing Course). He is a regular speaker on a range of topics relating to IP and licensing in the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. Frank was named as one of Managing IP’s ‘Corporate IP stars’ for four years in a row (2015-2018).
Gabriele Mohsler
Gianluca Vassallo
Guido Pontremoli
Currently employed as global Head of the IP department-Patent at Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, managing and coaching a team of experienced patent attorneys, patent searchers and administrators, working on the protection, enforcement, litigation and/or opposition of the Chiesi IP, aligned with business decisions.
Before joining Chiesi, I worked in IP groups of big pharma companies (GSK Vaccine, and Bracco Imaging) as senior patent attorney responsible for all the IP aspects concerning some key R&D projects. I also had experience as patent counsel in private practices, dealing with pharma, chemical and bio entities.
Graduated in chemistry from the Univ of Milan, with a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a post-doc experience in USA, I am qualified EPA and chartered Italian patent attorney.
Heike Wollgast
Ina Buerck
James Horgan
Jiri Slavik
Juliane Buchinski
Karin Pramberger
Karin has been Intellectual Property Director at the Polpharma Group since April 2018. She is responsible for all patent and trade mark related activities. Prior to joining the Polpharma Group, Karin was Head of IP of Medichem, Spain, and worked in various positions within the patent department of Teva, Barr and Pliva. She spent 7 years in a law firm in Vienna, Austria, where she became European and Austrian patent and trade mark attorney. She studied Biotechnology in Vienna, Austria, and at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chemie de Paris, France. In 2017 she graduated with an LLB from the University of London. Since 2005 she has been a tutor at CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, for the pre-exam and the C-part of the European Qualifying Exam.
Katie Coltart
Kristin Cooklin
Laila Beynon
Laila Beynon is Director, Dispute Resolution at Regeneron, responsible for the strategic co-ordination of ex-US patent litigation. She has a PhD in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, 10 years’ private practice experience in life sciences patent litigation at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, and prior to her role at Regeneron headed up the Patent Litigation team at BAT.
Margot Kokke
Mathias Zigann, Honourable Judge, UPC- Munich
Matthew O’Neill
Michael Swita
Mirna Atallah
Natalia Wright
Philippe Bessiere
Raquel Frisardi
Rob Rodrigues
Ronny Thomas
Sara Burghart
Sean Alexander
Sean Alexander is a qualified European Patent Attorney as well as a Canadian and U.S. Patent Agent. He has worked in the IP field for many years and is currently the Head of IP Strategy (H&N) for Chr. Hansen in Denmark. Prior to joining Chr. Hansen, Sean headed the IP team at Elanco Inc. based in the Netherlands and was a Partner with Gowling WLG in Canada. Sean has been recognized as one of the world's leading IP strategists by IAM Magazine and is regularly praised for his pragmatic and commercially aware approach to IP.
Sergio Napolitano
Shohta Ueno
Stefan Luginbuehl
Stefan Luginbuehl, PhD, lawyer, is Head of the Department European Legal Affairs (Dep 5222) at the European Patent Office where he is dealing with a wide range of patent law and patent litigation related subjects, with emphasis on the implementation of the EU unitary patent package into the existing European patent system.
He participated in several Diplomatic and Intergovernmental Conferences on the reform of the European patent system and the international litigation system. He is a lecturer in different universities and is the author and editor of several books and articles on patent procedure and patent litigation in Europe and China.
Stefanie Kies
Sufiyah Sulaiman
Sufiyah Sulaiman is an attorney-at-law with a master’s degree in science. As an in-house patent litigation counsel of generic pharma giants, she has been managing their patent litigation and product launch-at-risk globally. At the moment, she is a senior manager (patent litigation) at STADA (Arzneimittel) AG, before that she was the Global IP litigation counsel for Sandoz (International GmbH) and, IP and regulatory litigation counsel for Mylan (now Viatris).
Tess Waldron
Tjibbe Douma
Toni Santamaria
Toni has been leading the Intellectual Property team at Adalvo since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in different pharmaceutical companies where he has been involved in developing and implementing complex patent and data exclusivity litigation strategies for several generics and added value products, including leading parallel litigation cases in multiple European countries. He also has experience in patent and trademark prosecution.
Toni qualified as European Patent Attorney in 2010 and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
Andre Andrade
Arvid van Oorschot
Arvid is an IP-lawyer with over 20 years’ experience and partner of Vondst advocaten.
His main area of expertise is patent litigation. He works in various technical fields including MedTech, pharma and mechanical engineering. He works for instance on cases on antibodies and medical devices. He has a special interest in AI and legal tech.
He publishes and lectures regularly on the (international-) enforcement of IP rights and related issues.
Arvid is listed in various authoritative editorials including Chambers Europe and Global, Juve and IAM Patent 1000.
He is an active member of various professional associations including EPLAW and AIPPI.
Arvid studied at the Free University of Amsterdam and Northwestern Law School in Chicago. He was admitted to the bar in 2004.
Aude Veinante
Aude assists her clients in defining their patent strategy. Aude drafts new patent applications and monitors grant procedures in France and abroad. Her work also includes conducting patentability, validity and freedom to operate studies as well as forming consultations relative to supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).
Aude performs audits in the pharmaceutical and life science fields and advises her clients in case of patent disputes.
Aude is a member of the AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property) and the GRAPI (Groupe Rhône-Alpes pour la protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle [Rhône-Alpes Group for the Protection of Intellectual Property]). She is also a lecturer at the Bordeaux National School of Biomolecule Technology.
Bolko Ehlgen
Camille Pecnard
Catherine Drew
Corinna Sundermann
Daan De Lange
Denis Schertenleib
Douglas E. McCann, Principal, Fish & Richardson
Enzo Marasa
Ewan Nettleton
Gaëlle Bourout
Gemma Barrett
Gemma is an experienced and trusted advisor for some of the world’s leading life sciences and chemical companies. Her background in biochemistry means she specialises in complex technical disputes in the life sciences sector. She has more than fifteen years’ experience advising clients in patent litigation matters before the English Courts including securing preliminary injunctions. She is also experienced in advising on global cross-border litigation, and coordinating worldwide litigation, working closely with multi-disciplinary teams in the defence and enforcement of patent portfolios. She has developed innovative and successful strategies, often combining patent and regulatory law, to assist pharmaceutical companies in the enforcement of their rights.
Georgia Roussou
Heike Röder-Hitschke
Jason Raeburn
Jenny Davies
Jenny Davies is a life sciences and patent specialist with a Masters in Biochemistry from Oxford. She provides strategic advice to help clients protect and exploit their R&D investment in the life sciences sector, medical device sector and the chemical industry. Her work regularly entails negotiating agreements to support her clients' research, development, manufacture and commercialisation, and protect their markets through the enforcement of patents.
Jenny delivers business-focused solutions across her unique practice area spanning patents and dispute resolution, transactions ranging from strategic licensing to highly complex collaborations and regulatory matters. She advises clients in all aspects of patent enforcement, from technical analysis and global strategy to leading UK litigation and EPO oppositions.
Given the commercial and practical value of the assets Jenny protects, her approach combines precision and detail with a commercial mindset and sector-led solutions. Clients praise her "endless determination", "formidable intellect" and are "deeply impressed" with her "unusual capacity to think creatively".
Her work highlights include leading ground-breaking patent litigation up to the UK Court of Appeal to achieve a novel form of "Arrow declaration" for Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin and advising AstraZeneca across a range of high value and complex transactions: its collaboration with the University of Oxford (COVID-19 vaccine); two $6 billion oncology collaborations with Daiichi Sankyo; an $8.5 billion oncology deal with Merck; and a $300 million oncology deal with Genzyme (Caprelsa).
Jenny is a member of the BioIndustry Association's IP Advisory Committee, and SPC and exclusivities committee, and a regular speaker on patent litigation and strategy.
John Cox
With deep knowledge of issues facing the life sciences industry, John Cox counsels clients regarding their worldwide intellectual property rights and represents their patent interests when litigation arises, particularly regarding pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology matters. John takes his role in protecting these important assets of life science innovators very seriously while approaching each matter with enthusiasm.
Through his ability to communicate effectively and succinctly, John advises on, develops, and carries out global IP strategies for the benefit of innovative companies, his clients, who are focused on developing core assets that save and improve the lives of patients. John enjoys leveraging his unique ability to put together targeted and enduring teams for each matter – paying close attention to each person’s strengths and skillsets and how they fit with one another, alongside his highly specialized experience and thoughtful and responsive nature.
John is intimately familiar with the pharmaceutical industry, having dealt with patent and IP subject matter ranging from brain chemistry, the gastrointestinal system, drug delivery systems and treatments of rare diseases and cancer to medical diagnostic methods, the generation of biofuel using bacteria, and processes for manufacturing chemicals and pharmaceutical products. He also has almost two decades of experience in Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) cases, including pre-litigation investigations.
John offers guidance from the first step of a matter through to resolution, including all aspects of litigation. He has extensive experience related to discovery and motion practice, as well as in developing offensive and defensive strategies. He is well versed in dealing with complex subject matter and technical witnesses, such as inventors and experts.
John adeptly helps clients navigate the crossroads of foreign business practices and the complexities of U.S. patent practice, having worked with foreign pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology companies throughout his career.
Kassie Helm
Lauren Baker
Manuel Neetz
Marc Lauzeral
Marco Stief
Marie Hovel Hansen
Martina Tyreus Hufnal
Mike Cottler
Özge Atılgan Karakulak
Paul Ainsworth
Pierre-Emmanuel Meynard
Rainer Friedrich
Robert Cerwinski
Rob Cerwinski, managing partner, is a seasoned patent litigator and IP strategist with 20+ years of experience at premier U.S. law firms helping international clients launch biopharma products into the highly-competitive U.S. market. Mr. Cerwinski specializes in helping companies devise cost-effective strategies to navigate the complex and intertwined legal, regulatory and financial hurdles that can delay or prevent product launch. His successes in pre-litigation strategy and in the courtroom have driven the launch of 20+ biopharma products in the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Cerwinski holds a Master of Science Degree in molecular biology and has a deep understanding of the science, business and regulation of biopharma product development, manufacture and marketing. Mr. Cerwinski co-founded the industry-leading biosimilars practice at Goodwin Procter LLP and is a recognized global authority on biosimilars. He is Senior Editor of the leading legal treatise in the field, Guide to Biosimilars Litigation and Regulation in the U.S. (published by Thomson-Reuters) and founded Goodwin’s award-winning biosimilars blog, Big Molecule Watch and its companion blog, Big Molecule Watch China. Mr. Cerwinski was named an IAM Global Leader in Intellectual Property Law in 2021 and is ranked in the Gold Tier of the IAM Patent 1000.
Robin Ellis
Siddharth Kusumakar
Testimonials From 2024 Attendees
The Pharma/Biotech Patent Litigation Europe Conference was very informative and offered many opportunities for networking with relevant contacts.
Brilliantly organised event, great mix of practice and industry attendees, a highly relevant and useful series of panel talks, and a good balance of networking and content.
Two inspiring days! Once again attending this conference proved to be to be a unique opportunity not only to see colleagues and friends from all over the world and for new connections, but also to catch up and discuss with them the latest developments in current topics in pharma and biotech patent litigation.
Interesting presentations and many good discussions that are both informative and thought provoking
Great and actual topics, presentations from all kinds of different angles, open discussions, new insights. All in all very well organised!
Great event delivering valuable insight from all aspects of the pharma sector! Definitely the go to IP litigation conference this year!
Very stimulating event, relevant topics, good panels, lively discussions.
The event this year was well attended and thought provoking.
Our 2025 Partners
Interested in how you can get involved with Pharma & Biotech Patent Litigation 2025?
Based on your objectives, we can create bespoke packages for you. From presenting your expertise on stage to partnering with us to deliver networking activities. Partner with us in 2025 to showcase your brand and make valuable new connections. Opportunities include thought leadership, branding, and networking.
Discuss your objectives with Duncan Henderson, Commercial Partnerships Director, [email protected]
Life Sciences Patent Advisory Board
Dr. Leslie Fischer
Leslie Fischer is a Principal Patent Attorney at Sandoz, who focuses on global IP strategy for biosimilars. Before joining Sandoz, Leslie was a patent attorney at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she worked for over a decade developing global patent portfolios for biologicals. Before joining the Novartis group, Leslie was an associate at Fitzpatrick Cella (NY) (now Venable). Leslie holds a J.D. from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Thomas Jefferson University. Her scientific work appears in JCB, JBC, and Osteoarthritis & Cartilage. She speaks frequently at patent-related events and is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School.
Christof Bull
Lorenz Kallenbach
Lorenz Kallenbach is a senior corporate patent counsel in the healthcare division of Merck KGaA. He is responsible for defining and executing the IP strategy for innovator projects. Including the assessment of the IP landscape, coordination of worldwide patent litigation, and portfolio development.
Before joining Merck, Lorenz worked in private practice. He is qualified as a German and European patent attorney.
Lorenz studied biochemistry and received a Ph.D. in the field of epigenetics.
Stephan Kutik
Ewan Nettleton
Paki Banky
Corinna Sundermann
Frank Landolt
Frank Landolt is Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Legal at Confo Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical start-up based in Ghent, Belgium specializing in GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
After studying chemistry and law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, Frank worked for almost ten years on pharmaceutical and biotechological patents and licensing in private practice in the Netherlands, where his clients included major pharmaceutical companies as well as some of the top biotech firms and research institutions in the Netherlands.
Prior to joining Confo in 2018, Frank worked for fifteen years in Ablynx N.V. (now a wholly owned Sanofi company), where he was a member of the management team and headed an integrated IP and legal group of four lawyers and five patent professionals. At Ablynx, Frank was involved in negotiating Ablynx’s strategic partnerships and licensing deals with AbbVie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Wyeth.
From 2000 to 2004, Frank was director of IP and legal counsel at Devgen N.V. (now part of Syngenta), another Ghent-based biotechnology company, where he was involved in negotiating Devgen’s strategic collaborations with Sumitomo, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.
Frank is a Dutch and European patent attorney, and also holds a degree in business law from the University of Antwerp. He is a member of the Dutch association of patent attorneys (where he is a tutor for the professional qualification course), EPI and LES Benelux (where he is involved in the LES Licensing Course). He is a regular speaker on a range of topics relating to IP and licensing in the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. Frank was named as one of Managing IP’s ‘Corporate IP stars’ for four years in a row (2015-2018).
Guido Pontremoli
Currently employed as global Head of the IP department-Patent at Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, managing and coaching a team of experienced patent attorneys, patent searchers and administrators, working on the protection, enforcement, litigation and/or opposition of the Chiesi IP, aligned with business decisions.
Before joining Chiesi, I worked in IP groups of big pharma companies (GSK Vaccine, and Bracco Imaging) as senior patent attorney responsible for all the IP aspects concerning some key R&D projects. I also had experience as patent counsel in private practices, dealing with pharma, chemical and bio entities.
Graduated in chemistry from the Univ of Milan, with a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a post-doc experience in USA, I am qualified EPA and chartered Italian patent attorney.
Kristin Cooklin
Toni Santamaria
Toni has been leading the Intellectual Property team at Adalvo since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in different pharmaceutical companies where he has been involved in developing and implementing complex patent and data exclusivity litigation strategies for several generics and added value products, including leading parallel litigation cases in multiple European countries. He also has experience in patent and trademark prosecution.
Toni qualified as European Patent Attorney in 2010 and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
Shohta Ueno
Adrian Spillmann
Julia Pike
Since March 2020, Julia has been the Global Head of IP for Sandoz. In her previous roles with Sandoz, she has had a leading role in the first wave of US biosimilars litigation, including the first litigations on critical aspects of the governing legislation (the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act or BPCIA), culminating in the landmark US Supreme Court decision, Sandoz v Amgen.
Since leaving private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Julia has been in-house counsel for many years including at Mayne Pharma and Hospira Inc before joining Sandoz in 2008. While there, she has taken on roles in European public affairs and led Sandoz’s global IP litigation function as Global Head of IP Litigation. Through those roles, she has maintained a keen interest in IP strategy and litigation worldwide, including cases arising under the Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA legislation in the US, PM(NOC) regulations in Canada and litigation arising from patent linkage systems around the world.
Christoph Rehfuess
Karin Pramberger
Karin has been Intellectual Property Director at the Polpharma Group since April 2018. She is responsible for all patent and trade mark related activities. Prior to joining the Polpharma Group, Karin was Head of IP of Medichem, Spain, and worked in various positions within the patent department of Teva, Barr and Pliva. She spent 7 years in a law firm in Vienna, Austria, where she became European and Austrian patent and trade mark attorney. She studied Biotechnology in Vienna, Austria, and at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chemie de Paris, France. In 2017 she graduated with an LLB from the University of London. Since 2005 she has been a tutor at CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, for the pre-exam and the C-part of the European Qualifying Exam.
Dr. Leslie Fischer
Leslie Fischer is a Principal Patent Attorney at Sandoz, who focuses on global IP strategy for biosimilars. Before joining Sandoz, Leslie was a patent attorney at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she worked for over a decade developing global patent portfolios for biologicals. Before joining the Novartis group, Leslie was an associate at Fitzpatrick Cella (NY) (now Venable). Leslie holds a J.D. from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Thomas Jefferson University. Her scientific work appears in JCB, JBC, and Osteoarthritis & Cartilage. She speaks frequently at patent-related events and is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School.
Christof Bull
Lorenz Kallenbach
Lorenz Kallenbach is a senior corporate patent counsel in the healthcare division of Merck KGaA. He is responsible for defining and executing the IP strategy for innovator projects. Including the assessment of the IP landscape, coordination of worldwide patent litigation, and portfolio development.
Before joining Merck, Lorenz worked in private practice. He is qualified as a German and European patent attorney.
Lorenz studied biochemistry and received a Ph.D. in the field of epigenetics.
Stephan Kutik
Ewan Nettleton
Paki Banky
Corinna Sundermann
Frank Landolt
Frank Landolt is Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Legal at Confo Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical start-up based in Ghent, Belgium specializing in GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
After studying chemistry and law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, Frank worked for almost ten years on pharmaceutical and biotechological patents and licensing in private practice in the Netherlands, where his clients included major pharmaceutical companies as well as some of the top biotech firms and research institutions in the Netherlands.
Prior to joining Confo in 2018, Frank worked for fifteen years in Ablynx N.V. (now a wholly owned Sanofi company), where he was a member of the management team and headed an integrated IP and legal group of four lawyers and five patent professionals. At Ablynx, Frank was involved in negotiating Ablynx’s strategic partnerships and licensing deals with AbbVie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Wyeth.
From 2000 to 2004, Frank was director of IP and legal counsel at Devgen N.V. (now part of Syngenta), another Ghent-based biotechnology company, where he was involved in negotiating Devgen’s strategic collaborations with Sumitomo, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.
Frank is a Dutch and European patent attorney, and also holds a degree in business law from the University of Antwerp. He is a member of the Dutch association of patent attorneys (where he is a tutor for the professional qualification course), EPI and LES Benelux (where he is involved in the LES Licensing Course). He is a regular speaker on a range of topics relating to IP and licensing in the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. Frank was named as one of Managing IP’s ‘Corporate IP stars’ for four years in a row (2015-2018).
Guido Pontremoli
Currently employed as global Head of the IP department-Patent at Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, managing and coaching a team of experienced patent attorneys, patent searchers and administrators, working on the protection, enforcement, litigation and/or opposition of the Chiesi IP, aligned with business decisions.
Before joining Chiesi, I worked in IP groups of big pharma companies (GSK Vaccine, and Bracco Imaging) as senior patent attorney responsible for all the IP aspects concerning some key R&D projects. I also had experience as patent counsel in private practices, dealing with pharma, chemical and bio entities.
Graduated in chemistry from the Univ of Milan, with a PhD in medicinal chemistry and a post-doc experience in USA, I am qualified EPA and chartered Italian patent attorney.
Kristin Cooklin
Toni Santamaria
Toni has been leading the Intellectual Property team at Adalvo since 2021. He has more than 20 years of experience in different pharmaceutical companies where he has been involved in developing and implementing complex patent and data exclusivity litigation strategies for several generics and added value products, including leading parallel litigation cases in multiple European countries. He also has experience in patent and trademark prosecution.
Toni qualified as European Patent Attorney in 2010 and holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
Shohta Ueno
Adrian Spillmann
Julia Pike
Since March 2020, Julia has been the Global Head of IP for Sandoz. In her previous roles with Sandoz, she has had a leading role in the first wave of US biosimilars litigation, including the first litigations on critical aspects of the governing legislation (the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act or BPCIA), culminating in the landmark US Supreme Court decision, Sandoz v Amgen.
Since leaving private practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Julia has been in-house counsel for many years including at Mayne Pharma and Hospira Inc before joining Sandoz in 2008. While there, she has taken on roles in European public affairs and led Sandoz’s global IP litigation function as Global Head of IP Litigation. Through those roles, she has maintained a keen interest in IP strategy and litigation worldwide, including cases arising under the Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA legislation in the US, PM(NOC) regulations in Canada and litigation arising from patent linkage systems around the world.
Christoph Rehfuess
Karin Pramberger
Karin has been Intellectual Property Director at the Polpharma Group since April 2018. She is responsible for all patent and trade mark related activities. Prior to joining the Polpharma Group, Karin was Head of IP of Medichem, Spain, and worked in various positions within the patent department of Teva, Barr and Pliva. She spent 7 years in a law firm in Vienna, Austria, where she became European and Austrian patent and trade mark attorney. She studied Biotechnology in Vienna, Austria, and at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chemie de Paris, France. In 2017 she graduated with an LLB from the University of London. Since 2005 she has been a tutor at CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, for the pre-exam and the C-part of the European Qualifying Exam.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Diamond Partner
Platinum Partners
A&O Shearman
Website: https://www.aoshearman.com/en
A&O Shearman was formed in 2024 via the merger of two historic firms, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. With nearly 4,000 lawyers globally, we are equally fluent in English law, U.S. law and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets. This combination creates a new kind of law firm, one built to achieve unparalleled outcomes for our clients on their most complex, multijurisdictional matters – everywhere in the world.
Our trade secrets group operates on a multi-jurisdictional, cross-disciplinary basis, involving lawyers from our intellectual property and employment teams, as well as our litigation, investigations, white-collar crime, and arbitration specialists. We provide services to innovative clients across a range of sectors, including financial services, life sciences, defence, aerospace, chemicals, telecoms and high technology.
Fish & Richardson
Website: https://www.fr.com/industries/life-sciences/
Fish & Richardson has represented pioneering life science innovators from our earliest days. We work closely with life sciences companies to help them achieve their strategic IP goals through acquisition, partnering, licensing, financing, and enforcement. We do this by bringing a unique holistic approach to our clients’ IP matters, fostered by the collaboration between our patent prosecution, litigation, and regulatory practices. We have helped our clients build valuable patent portfolios worth billions of dollars, score big victories at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and win bet-the-company cases in court. When life sciences clients come to Fish to build an IP strategy, they know that we will leave no stone unturned when crafting creative and comprehensive solutions to maximize the value of their IP.
Gowling WLG
Website: https://gowlingwlg.com/
With more than 1,500 legal professionals in offices worldwide, Gowling WLG offers clients a comprehensive suite of sector-focused legal services. With an award winning global intellectual property practice, our full service firm stands out for its ability to provide support for the full life cycle of a smart idea.
Trade secret protection is an important part of this offering with services spanning multiple disciplines – from the development of trade secrets and data protection policies, to the drafting of NDAs and employment contracts, through to cybersecurity risk management and high stakes litigation.
Whether you are looking to identify and protect your trade secrets to avoid leakage, establishing the value of your intangible assets for merger or acquisition or pursuing a trade secret thief, we can help guide you through trade secrets law around the world and across a number of key sectors. Learn more
Linklaters
Website: https://www.linklaters.com/
Linklaters cross-border Intellectual Property team successfully advises market-leading companies on high-profile IP litigation and complex IP-driven transactions.
We advise clients in a broad range of sectors, with a focus on IP-heavy industries such as healthcare and life sciences.
Our history of advising clients in the healthcare and life sciences sector is long and we have developed strong working relationships and a deep understanding of our client’s business environment. Many of our lawyers have technical backgrounds and therefore have in-depth understanding of complex technologies.
We support our clients with outstanding legal skills, expert sector knowledge and a pragmatic mindset in cross-border IP disputes. More specifically our litigation practice covers the full scope of dispute resolution, including court proceedings, arbitration, mediation and settlement discussions. Where possible, we aim to resolve disputes before court proceedings become necessary. However, where litigation is unavoidable, we take care to pick the right cases to pursue through the courts and continue to look for pragmatic solutions.
We tackle the entire spectrum of IP rights, including patents, supplementary protection certificates, copyrights, designs and trademarks. Our practice also covers issues of confidentiality, as well as trade secrets protection and misappropriation.
Maiwald Intellectual Property
Website: https://www.maiwald.eu/en/
As one of Germany’s largest and best-known firms in the field of intellectual property (IP), providing optimal services to our clients is of paramount importance to us. Our team comprising about 250 people in Munich and Düsseldorf works closely with each other and with foreign associates, always with an eye to the client’s particular needs, regardless of the particular industry or type of company, whether start-up, medium-sized firm or large corporation, in Germany and worldwide. We at Maiwald will do everything to ensure that all your IP matters are handled with competence and commitment.
You can rely on Maiwald’s wide-ranging expertise. We provide a full range of services covering all aspects of IP law. Our highly qualified patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law unite all of the most important skills one would expect of an interdisciplinary team: sound legal knowledge, business proficiency and a broad range of technical and scientific know-how. And, it goes without saying, absolute professionalism, efficiency and close attention to the needs of each individual client. So you may be assured of receiving the best possible advice on all IP-related issues based on our proven competence and industry knowledge.
Marks & Clerk
Website: https://www.marks-clerk.com/
Marks & Clerk is an international law firm specialising in intellectual property (IP) law. With a vast network of over 650 professionals across the world, including a qualified team of experienced patent and trademark associates, the firm offers comprehensive technical expertise covering all aspects of intellectual property matters, such as patents, trademarks, designs and copyright. Its services encompass worldwide protection, portfolio management, strategic advice, commercial guidance, licensing, enforcement, clearance and searches, validity and infringement opinions, due diligence and litigation. Operating through a network of offices in Canada, Europe and Asia, Marks & Clerk consistently delivers high-quality, seamless and cost-effective services to clients both locally and globally.
Pinsent Masons
Website: https://www.pinsentmasons.com/
Pinsent Masons international Life Sciences practice is one of the best in Europe.
Their team, comprising more than 100 sector specialists, many of whom are leading individuals in their field with relevant scientific degrees (some to Ph.D.) and experience, drawn from industry, is dedicated to helping their clients continue to develop cutting-edge strategies that use the law as a business enabler to positively impact their bottom line.
The team acts for businesses globally on complex market shifting transactions; cutting edge R&D collaboration; partnering and licensing deals; the most high profile, business-critical patent and regulatory litigations; and hugely impactful anti-trust investigations and litigations.
Comprising some of the world’s leading life sciences experts, the team works with senior management and in-house legal teams to navigate complex regulatory environments, develop effective risk management strategies, and spot and convert opportunities.
Schertenleib
Website: https://schertenleib-avocats.com/en/equipe/denis-schertenleib/
Please visit our website for more information.Gold Partners
Barnes and Thornburg LLP
Website: https://btlaw.com/
Barnes & Thornburg’s Intellectual Property Department, with more than 130 attorneys and
professionals is one of the largest intellectual property practice groups found in a full-service law firm. Our practice covers a broad spectrum of services, including strategic IP portfolio services, prosecuting and litigating patents, trademarks and copyrights, enforcement of patents and trademarks, and defense of IP enforcement actions. Our IP practice advises and helps a diverse and multinational roster of clients. From electrical and mechanical engineering to chemistry and microbiology to computer technology and business methods – our attorneys’ background and experience in several technical disciplines position us to meet a variety of sophisticated business and inventorship needs.
Life Sciences
Barnes & Thornburg provides a wide range of interdisciplinary legal services to organizations engaged in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical and laboratory devices, health services, and bioinformatics. Most of the lawyers in our biotech practice have educational and practical research experience pertinent to the biotechnology industry and many hold advanced degrees in organic chemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and microbiology. We understand chemistry, biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device technologies. In addition, our intellectual property practice includes professionals with advanced degrees in molecular biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, biology, pharmacology, immunology, microbiology, biotechnology, bioengineering, physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and civil engineering.
Our team represents a wide array of clients in this industry from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Some of our representative clients include 3M Company, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Johnson & Johnson, H.D. Smith Wholesale Drug Co., and Hillenbrand.
Bonabry
Website: https://www.bonabry.de/
Bonabry is a team of experienced and specialized patent and IP litigators united in the belief that the most excellent solutions for our clients require independent and inventive thinking supported by a working environment that implements the ideas of tomorrow. The team is composed of five partners (Dr Alexander Harguth, Carl-Alexander Dinges, Daniel Hoppe, Dr Jan Peter Heidenreich and Konstantin Schallmoser), two counsels (Christian Holtz and Dr Sarah Salaschek) and two associates (Alice Pasch and Isabel Werner). The new offices are based in Hamburg, Munich, and Paris.
Bonabry represents its clients in all areas of IP litigation and licensing. Their services include patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, designs, and related fields such as competition law and pharma regulatory law. The key industries include life science and pharma, telecommunication and network technology, automotive, industrial engineering, semiconductors, electronics and software, cosmetic and consumer goods as well as luxury goods and fashion.
Carpmaels & Ransford
Website: https://www.carpmaels.com/
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP is a leader in the European IP market, having driven innovation in the industry for over 200 years. The firm advises clients on all aspects of intellectual property, including drafting, filing and prosecuting patent and trademark applications; drafting and negotiating licence agreements and other commercial IP agreements; advising on the transfer of property rights; assisting clients with patent restoration matters; and conducting enforcement and revocation litigation.
The firm has one of Europe’s largest IP teams serving blue-chip clients across the globe, including Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Mars, Gilead, Raytheon, Regeneron, Takeda, Allergan and Xeros. The firm’s attorneys have considerable technical knowledge, bringing together experience from industry-leading companies, academic research at leading universities and extensive patent expertise in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, engineering, tech, chemistry, materials, supplementary protection certificates and information and communication technologies and standards.
Through its fully integrated dispute resolution and transactions teams, the firm is able to provide a holistic service to clients which supports their IP needs from inception to commercialisation. The dispute resolution team, made up of experienced solicitors, barristers and patent attorney litigators, represents clients at all levels of the European Patent Office. The team is also adept at conducting enforcement litigation and revocation actions before the UK Intellectual Property Office and patent, copyright, trademark and other IP litigation in the English courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union, often advising in cases where parallel or related litigation is ongoing in courts across Europe or in the United States.
As a European IP firm with litigators and patent attorneys under one roof, Carpmaels & Ransford is looking forward to offering clients the chance to both obtain UPs using the existing EPO procedure and enforce their patents across Europe in the UPC.
Finnegan
Website: http://www.finnegan.com/
As one of the largest IP practices in the world, Finnegan was founded nearly 60 years ago with a focus on offering the highest quality IP legal services. Since we focus primarily on IP, every resource of our firm is dedicated to hiring the top talent in the IP world, and providing them with the IP resources needed to excel. We have a decades-long track record of successfully prosecuting and litigating some of the world’s most significant patent, trademark, copyright, and licensing matters. We also represent clients on IP issues related to advertising, trade secrets, European patents and trade marks, international trade, portfolio management, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, privacy, and unfair competition. We offer full-service IP legal and technical experience in virtually every industry and technology—from electrical and computer technology, industrial manufacturing, consumer products, medical devices, and biotechnology to pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and alternative energy.
Our commitment to quality is continually recognized worldwide by our clients, colleagues, and respected publications such as:
- #1 Tier National Ranking for Intellectual Property Law, 2010-2024 (U.S. News—Best Lawyers Best Law Firms)
- Practice Group of the Year, 2017, 2019, 2022 (Law360)
- #1 Tier National Ranking for Intellectual Property Litigation, 2024 (Benchmark Litigation)
Gemini Law
Website: http://www.geminilaw.com/
Gemini attorneys are among the most experienced and successful at helping manufacturers of biopharma products navigate IP barriers to access the U.S. market. Gemini has particular expertise in patent strategy and litigation relating to biosimilar, biobetter, generic and 505(b)(2) products, as well as collateral issues concerning the Hatch Waxman and BPCIA regulatory schemes. Gemini is also very experienced in counseling early-stage biotech companies to optimize patent portfolios and mitigate the risk posed by competitors’ IP, as well as IP issues related to licensing and development transactions. Gemini offers “end to end” counseling on IP issues in support of biopharma product development and launch in the U.S., including:
- Litigation risk mitigation and avoidance
- Patent & trade secret design-around strategies
- Patent portfolio optimization
- Biosimilar (BPCIA) litigation & regulatory strategy
- Hatch Waxman litigation & regulatory strategy
- "Biobetter" & "fast follow-on" product litigation & regulatory strategy
- Pharmaceutical device-related litigation & regulatory strategy
- IP & regulatory issues concerning healthcare AI
- CREATES Act requests & litigation
- Section 1782 discovery requests for use in foreign litigation
- Global coordination of litigation strategy concerning biosimilar, generic and biobetter products
- Patent landscaping and freedom-to-operate opinions
- IP-related licensing, development & manufacturing transactions
- Lobbying and legislative initiatives relating to the BPCIA and Hatch Waxman laws
Gün + Partners
Website: https://gun.av.tr/
We are one of the oldest and largest law firms in Turkey and are considered internationally to be among the top-tier of legal services providers.
We are a full-service law firm leading the intellectual property field among others, providing dispute management, advisory, transactional, prosecution, investigation, and regulatory markets law services to domestic and multinational corporations.
We are based in Istanbul, with working and correspondent offices in Ankara, Izmir and the major commercial centres in Turkey.
We operate mainly in Turkish and English and also work fluently in German and French.
We advise a large portfolio of clients in numerous fields of activity including life sciences, insurance and reinsurance, energy, construction & real estate, logistics, technology, media and telecoms, automotive, FMCG, chemicals and the defense industries.
Our vision is to be the leader in the services we provide, sensitive to wider society, the environment, and our employees as an innovative and sustainable institution.
Our clients’ success is at the heart of our own success. We closely monitor developments in the business sectors in which our clients operate and invest in accumulating industry specific knowledge to understand their changing needs. We actively participate in professional, trade and business organisations in Turkey and internationally.
We are committed to adapt to our clients’ changing business needs by delivering innovative, high quality and commercially prudent legal solutions.
Herbert Smith Freehills
Website: https://www.herbertsmithfreehills.com/
Please visit our website for more information.LAVOIX
Website: https://www.lavoix.eu/en
LAVOIX, a European firm fully dedicated to Intellectual Property (IP), has close to 200 IP professionals including 80 attorneys-at-law, industrial property attorneys and technology specialists.The firm’s sheer size and the diversity of its team’s areas of expertise enable LAVOIX to assist its clients in every aspect of IP across all business areas and technological fields.
Our Life Science team has extensive technical expertise in many areas including biotechnology, pharmaceutical chemistry and bioinformatics.
Our attorneys are able to prosecute patent applications in the three European Patent Office official languages (English, German and French). Our Munich office provides direct and easy access to the EPO and the German Patent Office.
Our Life Science team is also regularly involved in oppositions, appeals and oral proceedings before the EPO, management of Supplementary Protection Certificates, as well as due diligence, precontentious opinions and national or pan-European litigations.
With a view to maximize the position of our clients and meet their specific needs, our Life Science Team also monitors the latest developments of the European Union’s law which could potentially affect our client’s businesses, in particular in respect of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agrochemicals and medical devices.
McCarthy Tetrault
Website: https://www.mccarthy.ca/en
Please visit our website for more information.Pearce IP
Website: https://www.pearceip.law/
Pearce IP is a boutique firm offering intellectual property specialist lawyers, patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys to the life sciences industries (in particular, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, biotech, ag-tech and food tech). Pearce IP is recognised by MIP has the only leading regional IP firm with a female founder, and is certified by WEConnect International as women owned. Pearce IP is the 2021 ‘Intellectual Property Team of the Year’ (Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards) and was shortlisted for the same award in 2022. Pearce IP is ranked in IAM Patent 1000 and Managing IP (MIP) IP Stars, in Australasian Lawyer 5 Star Awards as a ‘5 Star’ firm, and the Legal 500 APAC Guide for Intellectual Property.
Our leaders have been recognised in virtually every notable IP listing for their legal, patent and trade mark excellence including: IAM Patent 1000, MIP IP Stars, Doyles Guide, WIPR Leaders, 5 Star IP Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Australasian Lawyer 5 Star Awards, and have been honoured with many awards including Australian Law Awards – IP Partner of the Year, Women in Law Awards – Partner of the Year, Women in Business Law Awards - Patent Lawyer of the Year (Asia Pacific), Most Influential Lawyers (Changemaker), among other awards.
Potter Clarkson
Website: https://www.potterclarkson.com/
Leading European intellectual property law firm, Potter Clarkson helps companies, organisations, and individuals across all sectors of business to understand, create, protect, and defend the commercial value of their innovations anywhere in the world. Its 200-strong specialist team of patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys, litigators, and licensing specialists, operate from dedicated offices in the UK, Sweden, and Denmark.
Recognised as one of Europe’s leading intellectual property law firms, Potter Clarkson is particularly well-known for its deep expertise in resolving life science disputes, its contentious practice routinely conducting high-profile litigation in key jurisdictions around the world as well as before the EPO, and now the UPC, with multiple actions currently on foot before this important new court.
Reddie & Grose
Website: https://www.reddie.co.uk/
Reddie & Grose is a European Intellectual Property firm and our team of over 100 IP professionals are working from our offices in London, Cambridge, Munich and The Hague. We handle the full range of IP rights including patents, trade marks, registered designs and plant varieties. Within these areas the team are experts in drafting, filing, prosecution, opposition, enforcement, defence and dispute resolution, and advise on IP strategy at all stages in the development of our clients’ portfolios. We help clients to overcome obstacles by whatever method best fits the strategy for that client. We partner with them and give them recommendations for how they should best protect their IP.
Simmons & Simmons
Website: https://www.simmons-simmons.com/en/expertise/service/intellectual-property/patents
Our international Patent team seamlessly integrates the specialized expertise of a boutique practice with the extensive service offerings of a major international firm. Recognized in the market for our high-calibre clients and active involvement in leading global patent cases, we stand as a trusted force in the European legal landscape; with offices and well established patent experts in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich and Milan and with Pharma & Biotech as one of our firm’s four core sectors.
Leveraging our extensive experience, we adeptly guide clients through specialised procedures, including infringement seizures, preliminary injunctions, patent infringement actions, patent nullification actions, and non-infringement declarations. With over 45 years at the forefront of IP law and practice, our international reputation is anchored in a pre-eminent track record in complex patent litigation (alongside a market-leading IP transactions and regulatory practices). Our comprehensive suite of services offers a "one-stop-shop" for pharma and biotech clients needing advice and strategic partnership on patents and other areas of IP.
Simmons and Simmons has played a pivotal role in the development of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) system. Our partner, Kevin Mooney, is acknowledged as one of the "fathers of the UPC", if not “Mr UPC”. Positioned at the forefront of every aspect of the new system, we don't just advise on the law – we actively shape it.
Sterne Kessler
Website: https://www.sternekessler.com/
Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is a full-service intellectual property law firm that provides innovative solutions tailored to your business and industry. Since our founding in 1978, we have grown to become one of the largest IP specialty law firms in the United States. We collaborate across the full spectrum of IP to deliver real results for our clients—from patent and trademark prosecution, to patent litigation in federal district and appellate courts, strategic IP counseling, due diligence, and post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Our team includes attorneys, patent agents, and technical specialists with 100+ advanced degrees, including 60+ Ph.D.s,, in science and engineering disciplines. We work with the world’s leading innovators and brands, ranging from individual inventors and startups to renowned universities and Fortune 500 companies.
We are proud to be one of the most highly regarded IP specialty law firms, and we have cultivated an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. And we’re honored that our attorneys and staff have voted Sterne Kessler as a Washington Post “Top Workplace” for 10 years running.
Taylor Wessing LLP
Website: https://www.taylorwessing.com/en/
Taylor Wessing is a global law firm that serves the world's most innovative people and businesses. Deeply embedded within the life sciences & healthcare, technology, media & communications (TMC), energy & infrastructure, private wealth and real estate sectors, we work closely together with our clients to crack complex problems, enabling ideas and aspirations to thrive. With a team of 1,200 lawyers working across 28 offices in 17 countries, we challenge expectation and create extraordinary results.
Our team work with some of the largest pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies and healthcare providers in the world to a diverse collective of small-to-medium-sized start-up enterprises ready to upscale their business, and many companies in between.
Trevisan & Cuonzo
Website: https://www.trevisancuonzo.com/en/index.html
Trevisan & Cuonzo, established in 1993, is one of the leading independent Italian law firms working with some of the most technologically advanced and innovative businesses around the globe. The firm delivers client focused, industry specific, commercially aligned legal expertise covering a wide range of industrial sectors including life sciences, electronics, chemical, mechanical, automotive, food, telecommunications, media and entertainment, fashion. The firm has established a commanding reputation both domestically and internationally for its success in intellectual property, commercial and product liability litigation. The firm has a network of offices in Milan, Rome, Parma and Bari.
Van Bael & Bellis
Website: https://www.vbb.com/
Van Bael & Bellis is a leading independent international law firm, headquartered in Brussels with offices in London and Geneva. Our cross-disciplinary life sciences team is top-ranked in the leading directories.
We advise some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies on the full range of EU and Belgian matters arising across product life cycles, including collaborations and licensing, distribution issues, registration, early market access schemes, pricing and reimbursement strategies, pre- and post-marketing regulations, product liability, clinical trials, data exclusivity, orphan medicines, advertising and promotion, pharmacovigilance, hospital supplies under public procurement rules, parallel imports, patient support schemes, digital healthcare issues, advanced therapies, patent litigation and dispute resolution.
The firm is a co-founder of the Life Sciences Practice Group, an informal network of independent specialist life sciences law firms across 27 jurisdictions. Our lawyers speak at life sciences events around the globe.
Lifang & Partners
Website: https://www.lifanglaw.com/en
Please visit our website for more information.Solutions Partner
RWS
Website: https://www.rws.com/intellectual-property-services/
RWS is the world’s leading provider of technology-enabled language, content management, and intellectual property services. With over 60 years of experience, RWS's expertise in patent translations, foreign filing, patent maintenance and IP research is unrivalled.
RWS delivers high-quality translations in a format ready for filing, in compliance with national filing formalities and maintaining the same protective scope as the original text.
RWS also helps clients streamline their internal processes by providing flexible, cost-effective foreign filing services that reduce the administrative burden associated with EP validations, PCT national phase entries and direct filings.
When it comes to IP research, RWS offers the most robust services and tools available. AOP Connect, RWS’s market-leading research platform, enables clients organize study results more effectively. With services ranging from analyst studies to crowd-based searches, RWS provides tailored solutions to meet clients’ diverse needs.
RWS also provides a reliable renewals service that reduces the risk and workload associated with patent maintenance.
RWS clients include 18 of the top 20 WIPO applicants and 16 of the top 20 applicants at the European Patent Office.
Founded in 1958, RWS is headquartered in the UK and publicly listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).
Seprotec
Website: https://seprotec.com/
At Seprotec Multilingual Solutions, we specialize in providing comprehensive language solutions for patent litigation and intellectual property management. With over 25 years of experience, we support legal teams, law firms, and corporate IP departments in navigating complex cross-border disputes with precision and efficiency.
Our tailored services for the patent litigation sector include:
- Patent and Technical Translations: Precise translations of patents, prior art, legal briefs, and technical documentation.
- Legal Document Translation: Certified translations of legal documents for court submissions and international proceedings.
- Multilingual Localization: Full localization of digital content into over 220 languages, including transcriptions, subtitles, dubbing, and voice-over for hearings, evidence presentations, and training materials.
- IP Management: End-to-end patent management solutions, from searches and foreign filings to renewals and document management, designed to streamline IP management processes and reduce costs.
- Simultaneous and Consecutive Interpretation: Expert legal and technical interpreters for hearings, depositions, and client meetings.
Operating in over 220 languages, our linguists and IP experts combine deep technical expertise with legal acumen to ensure consistent quality and accuracy. With production centers strategically located worldwide, we provide 24/7 support to meet tight litigation deadlines.
Seprotec is the trusted partner for global leaders in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences, delivering the language expertise needed to succeed in high-stakes litigation.
TPR
Website: https://www.tprinternational.com/
TPR is a world-class leader in patent and literature research for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, trusted for over 30 years. Our team of specialised Search Analysts, known for their global reputation for excellence, provides actionable insights to support IP protection, innovation, and strategic decision-making.
Chemistry & Biotech Expertise – Advanced searches in both large and small molecules leveraging cutting-edge indexing and algorithms, including chemical structures, Markush structures, sequences, formulations and biosimilars.
Comprehensive Subject Knowledge – Our team includes experts in molecular biology, immunology, genomics, gene therapy, and medical devices, with many Search Analysts formerly serving on the patent information teams at leading companies such as GSK, Merck, Pfizer, Novartis, Abbott, Eli Lilly, Amgen and Genentech.
Tailored Patent Search Solutions – From freedom-to-operate to validity/invalidity, litigation, EPO opposition, IPR, due diligence, landscape and white-space analyses, we address the critical challenges in pharma and biotech.
TPR’s highly experienced U.S. and European Search Analysts, global reach, and passion for excellence make us the most trusted choice for pharma and biotech corporations and law firms.
Lanyard Partner
Moroglu Arseven
Website: https://www.morogluarseven.com/
Please visit our website for more information.About Kisaco Research
Kisaco Research produces, designs and hosts B2B industry conferences, exhibitions and communities – focused on a specialized selection of topic areas.
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