Bird & Bird has a preeminent reputation in healthcare and life sciences globally and its Brussels practice is equally adept in contentious and non-contentious mandates. The team is especially active in the hospital sector, advising on a mix of pricing, reimbursements, e-health issues and public procurement. Practice head Marc Martens‘s deep regulatory expertise notably encompasses areas including biobanking, advanced therapies and clinical trials, working with a deep roster of regional, national, and European organisations. Jean-Christophe Troussel and Paul Hermant are noted for their focus on IP-based and transactional mandates, respectively. Nicolas Carbonnelle continues to work with a number of high-profile clients on medical biotechnology and pharmaceutical instructions, often in a cross-border capacity.

The market-leading life sciences practice at Van Bael & Bellis fields a strong and sizeable team able to advise on a host of contentious and non-contentious mandates across the sector. The team is highly regarded by public and private sector clients, ranging from multinational pharmaceutical giants to pan-European associations and sovereign states. Praised by clients as an 'exceptional legal advisor', Catherine Longeval routinely represents various heavyweight clients in high-profile litigation and CEPANI-governed arbitral tribunals. Peter L’Ecluse's life sciences expertise is concentrated in patent licensing, registration, and pricing reimbursement, representing entities in various administrative proceedings. Also noted for his EU competition expertise, Michael Clancy's recent disputes-based instructions include appearances before the Court of Justice appealing patent settlement verdicts. Koen T’Syen and Thibaut D’hulst are other names to note.

Led by patent litigation specialist Christophe Ronse and agri-food expert Philippe de Jong, ALTIUS‘ multidisciplinary team acts for a number of transnational pharmaceutical conglomerates, medical device manufacturers, biotech companies, and foreign governments on cross-border disputes and proceedings before the domestic and European courts. The team also has niche expertise in the application of EU-wide compliance regulations and patent enforcement actions. The ‘genius’ Kirian Claeyé is a key contact within the team for parallel import/distribution support and IP portfolio management across the life sciences sector.

Jones Day handles the full spectrum of healthcare and life sciences work, including in the cutting-edge fields of diagnostics, digital health, virtual clinical trials and app-based care. In recent work, the team advised on high-profile advance pricing agreements, EU regulatory reviews, and major cross-border investments, divestments and acquisitions. Practice head Cristiana Spontoni is praised for her 'very extensive' knowledge and capabilities, working with a myriad of companies on the full lifecycle of new products, including regulatory enforcements and post-recall crisis management. Luca Salernitano is also noted.

Fielding a cross-office Benelux group that works collaboratively on a litany of multi-jurisdictional mandates, the team at Loyens & Loeff is ideally positioned to assist an array of key life sciences companies with major transactions and disputes. The team is jointly led by IP and data protection expert Stéphanie De Smedt and public procurement specialist Valentijn De Boe, who works with various public hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and financial institutions on high-value developments. Wannes Buelens is noted for his broad knowledge of health law, encompassing medical devices, clinical trials and patient rights.

Well regarded by clients for its capabilities in high-value, cross-border deals, NautaDutilh is regularly engaged by blue-chip multinationals and leading Belgian companies active across the life sciences sector. The team's transactional pedigree sees it advising on biotech IPOs, equity capital markets acquisitions, and financing rounds for high-tech medical ventures. Florence Verhoestraete is a highly experienced IP and life sciences practitioner with key expertise in licence work, collaboration agreements, and consortia agreements for research funding. Philippe Remels regularly takes the lead on healthcare transactions, acting for publicly-listed companies as well as investors and underwriters.

The life sciences and technology team at Quinz works with a host of market-leading companies on high-value transactions, distribution agreements, regulatory matters and compliance questions. Cross-border licensing structures, strategic partnerships, and representation in competition authority investigations are further core competencies. Pharmaceutical compliance expert Olivier Van Obberghen and pharmaceutical regulatory specialist Pieter Wyckmans are both highly regarded for their 'intelligence and exceptional industry knowledge'. Marion Lapage is experienced in every element of the product lifecycle, ranging from R&D to supply chain establishment.

Highly reputed for its IP capabilities, Stibbe's cross-practice team also works with a host of renowned public and private sector clients on numerous compliance issues and contentious proceedings, as well as an array of registration and regulatory issues. Ignace Vernimme has significant experience of health products and healthcare services, handling high-stakes litigation and proceedings before various Belgian regulatory authorities. Philippe Campolini works with numerous clients in the life sciences and medical device industries, while Manuel Campolini is noted for his deep knowledge of domestic and EU-wide pharmaceutical regulatory frameworks.

CMS' cross-practice collaboration and multilingual capabilities make it a popular choice for a varied roster of pharmaceutical heavyweights, industry associations and hospital groups. The team is especially renowned for its public procurement capabilities, working with some of the largest Europe-wide governing bodies on high-profile, cross-border projects. Joint practice heads Bruno Fonteyn and Virginie Dor are noted for their expertise in health sector regulation and EU-wide health and social care procurement mandates, respectively.

Deloitte Legal's life sciences and healthcare practice is experienced in the full spectrum of corporate and venture capital work for clients in the biotech, medtech, and clean tech sectors. Distribution agreements, IP rights enforcement, and EU regulatory reviews are further core workflows for the team. A number of biotech and medtech start-ups and scale-ups routinely turn to Christoph Michiels for assistance throughout the development process. Benoît Féron and Kathleen De hornois are other names to note.

DLA Piper's sizeable practice regularly assists various leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies in high-value, multi-jurisdictional matters. The team is noted for its EU and Belgian regulatory coverage, most notably in relation to market authorisation, pricing and reimbursement issues, clinical trials, and public procurement. Eddy Lievens is routinely instructed by Pfizer to assist with a litany of employment and social security law matters. Caroline Daout advises various pharmaceutical companies on strategic transactions.

Osborne Clarke‘s life sciences and healthcare experience encompasses a range of corporate and commercial concerns, including cross-border VC and M&A transactions, tax matters, and pharmaceutical sector employment law. Data protection and IP rights advice are further key competencies. David Haex is an experienced transactional lawyer with many years of experience assisting biotech, medtech and pharmaceutical companies. Since publication, Vladimir Murovec joined the firm.