Herbert Smith's life sciences practice is one of the longest standing in the industry and the firm has been acting for Roche for half a century. In addition, Herbert Smith was the legal adviser in 1964, responsible for the establishment of the British Society of Plant Breeders. Forty years on the BSPB continues to be a client. Throughout this period we have acted for a wide range of clients in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors and have been involved in a significant number of the precedent-setting decisions in this area. This track record, combined with the strengths of our intellectual property and corporate departments, has led to a leading multi-disciplinary practice which advises clients in these sectors on:
- patent infringement and revocation proceedings
- licensing agreements and disputes
- regulatory requirements
- IPO, M&A and other corporate activity
- environmental issues
- public law
- cross-border transactions and trade
Our clients include a broad range of pharmaceutical and bioscience organisations including start-ups, newly-listed companies, universities and research-funders, international pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and medical device companies. They include pharmaceutical giants such as Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Roche, Sanofi Pasteur and Wyeth, as well as high-profile UK names such as Cambridge Antibody Technology, the Medical Research Council and The Wellcome Trust.
Our life sciences team is based in London and includes many lawyers with first and higher degrees in relevant subjects. The London practice works closely with lawyers across Europe and Asia advising on both domestic and cross-border issues. It also forms part of the life sciences European group with our Alliance partners Gleiss Lutz and Stibbe.
"Praise rains down on this 'outstanding group of [IP] experts' for its performance in the life sciences market. Clients spotlight the quality of its patent litigation and 'pro-active, user-friendly' attitude. This level of praise looks set to continue following the teams most talked about matters of the year"
Chambers UK 2007