The Legal 500

Dechert fields a ten-lawyer team that is entirely dedicated to the healthcare sector and is very highly recommended by major pharmaceuticals companies. Clients include Air Liquide and Baxter, as well as private equity funds. The firm has a leading corporate and regulatory practice under Jonathan Schur, Emmanuelle Trombe, Anne-Laure Marcerou and Alain Decombe, who is praised for his ‘business acumen’ and ‘client management’ abilities. Jacques Sivignon and Xavier Nyssen are the main contacts for litigation.

Salans provides ‘a very good level of service in terms of response time, business knowledge and appropriateness of advice’. François Vignaud leads the ten-partner life sciences group, which advises on compliance, market authorisations, distribution, advertising and reimbursement. Jean-Marc Grosperrin has strong know-how in corporate matters and Pascale Poupelin is a regulatory and litigation expert. Jean-Luc Cuadrado advises many leading companies on taxation issues. Clients include Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, and Roche. The team also recently assisted Warner Chilcott with restructuring its French business.

Simmons & Simmons LLP faces little competition when it comes to product liability cases, and handles the most high-profile cases in the field through market-leading figure Jacques-Antoine Robert, whose expertise spans litigation, regulatory and competition matters. The 20-lawyer team deepened its leading litigation practice after hiring Michèle Anahory from Landwell & Associés. Alexandre Regniault is also recommended for regulatory and contentious matters, and Sonia de Kondserovsky and Christian Taylor are corporate experts. The firm’s clients include various global pharmaceuticals groups, biotechnology companies and medical devices manufacturers, as well as clinics and hospitals.

Allen & Overy LLP is on the panel of many pharmaceutical and life sciences giants including Abbott Laboratories, Biomet, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson. The practice, led by Laëtitia Bénard, stands out for its patent litigation expertise, and is handling various global disputes such as representing Merck Sharp & Dohme in proceedings against Mylan and Qualimed regarding IP rights held on a blockbuster drug. The firm also advises on regulatory and pricing matters, as well as on competition issues through Olivier Fréget.

CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre has strong regulatory and tax expertise. Bernard Geneste and Jean de la Hosseraye are key elements in the practice, which is adept at handling technical cases before the French administrative Supreme Court, and recently obtained reimbursements of tax payments for Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline. The practice is also regularly consulted by public health authorities.

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés is ‘extremely responsive and commercially minded’, and demonstrates a ‘very good understanding of the healthcare environment’. Its clients include large pharmaceuticals companies and medical devices manufacturers. Jean-Marie Job is ‘extremely well versed in commercial and regulatory issues’, and also recommended are Louis de Gaulle for patent and other IP work, and Brigitte Daille-Duclos for litigation.

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s life sciences group is increasingly prominent in product liability cases, where its clients include Bayer, Baxter and Laboratoires Servier. Practice head Cécile Derycke is representing Brainlab in a case concerning patients’ exposure to radiation in several hospitals. The firm also has patent and trade mark expertise through Xavier Buffet Delmas and Dominique Ménard, and has recently represented ALK-Abelló, AETS-Etablissement Français du Sang and Eli Lilly in IP matters. Mikael Salmela handles regulatory work.

Healthcare law boutique Intuity represents several large manufacturers in regulatory, competition, distribution and litigation matters. Christophe Hénin has in-depth knowledge of the pharmaceuticals industry and is a highly regarded competition law expert. Anne Servoir is also recommended.

In 2011, LexCase hired a recognised specialist in Alain Gorny, who joined from Bird & Bird with two associates. Gorny has ‘superb negotiation skills’ and is a ‘very solutions-oriented lawyer, well acquainted with public authorities’. The team has extensive experience advising on regulatory, market access and product liability issues, and represents pharmaceuticals and medical devices manufacturers and healthcare services operators.

In 2011, Norton Rose LLP created a global group dedicated to the pharmaceuticals and life sciences field, headed by Mélanie Thill-Tayara for the Asian, European and Middle-Eastern regions. The team advises leading manufacturers including Sanofi and Medtronic on strategic and regulatory issues, competition law and disputes.

Winston & Strawn shows ‘remarkable understanding of the health sector’. Head of corporate Gilles Bigot manages the practice in the field, and the group is recommended for clinic regulation and investment work for key clients such as Générale de Santé and Novescia. The team also represents clients in litigation. Other major clients include La Croix Rouge and certain investment funds.