Leading pharmaceutical companies turn to Clifford Chance's Spain-based team for advice and representation in complex patent litigation, M&A and sensitive regulatory matters. IP partner Miquel Montañá has established his reputation in the life sciences sector through his involvement in high-profile patent disputes over two decades of practice. Other names to note in the team include corporate and M&A partner Guillermo Guardia, Josep Montefusco, who focuses on IP and has been a partner since 2017, and public and administrative law specialist Carme Briera, who receives praise. The abovementioned lawyers are based in Barcelona and also collaborate with colleagues in the Madrid office.

Barcelona-based specialist life sciences firm Faus & Moliner balances a busy contentious and non-contentious workload. Recent work includes advising leading pharmaceutical companies on public procurement, advertising, pricing and reimbursement issues and data protection. In addition, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the team has been advising clients on novel schemes to bring medicines to the market. The dedicated and experienced team is led by founding and managing partner Jordi Faus, and includes co-founding partner Xavier Moliner and Eduard Rodellar, who specialises in clinical trials and health data protection, among other areas.

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo maintains an active life sciences practice, placing a particular emphasis on research and development and innovative products; the team has experience advising clients across all phases of development and distribution. Its international client base includes companies operating in the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices, animal health and botany sectors. The team is jointly led by Eduardo Castillo, who brings IP and unfair competition expertise, and Irene Fernández Puyol, who advises clients on regulation pertaining to medicinal products, medical devices and healthcare services.

'One of the top firms in Spain in this field', the healthcare and life sciences department at Uría Menéndez handles a range of contentious and non-contentious matters, drawing on the experience of a multi-disciplinary group of lawyers. E-health is a particular area of expertise, and the team is also active in compliance issues, from internal investigations to the implementation of compliance programmes. Practice head Teresa Paz-Ares is an 'extraordinary lawyer'; she focuses her practice on M&A and corporate and commercial law. José Massaguer and Montiano Monteagudo are names to note for IP in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. Counsel Beatriz Cocina is another key member of the team.

Noted for its 'great experience in pharma', Eversheds Sutherland Nicea is particularly strong in patent and regulatory matters. IP and litigation expert Francisco Carrión García de Parada heads the practice and draws on longstanding expertise in the pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare sectors. Counsel Marta González benefits from former in-house experience at GlaxoSmithKline and Celgene; she advises clients on patent and product liability disputes, and in regulatory and commercial matters.

Fieldfisher JAUSAS has longstanding experience in the healthcare and life sciences sector in Spain, having been advising clients in this area since 1965. Regulation, compliance, market access and advertising are particular areas of expertise. Practice head Héctor Jausàs has a strong reputation in the market and is the co-managing partner of Conférence Bleue, a network of independent European law firms specialising in healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical law. Senior associate Gemma Colomer is also noted.

Garrigues is particularly prominent in high-value, large-scale M&A involving major life sciences players, and also maintains an active patent litigation practice. The team has advised on a number of innovative projects, including projects involving cloud-based medical data platforms through which patients can manage and store medical records. Internally, the firm employs a number of innovative initiatives, and has also developed an in-house ideas lab, the Garrigues Innovation Think Tank. IP expert Carolina Pina and corporate and commercial partner José Fernández-Rañada jointly lead the team.

Bird & Bird covers the full spectrum of healthcare and life sciences, counting pharmaceutical, biotech, digital health and agribusiness companies among its clients. Individual partners bring expertise in various fields of law: Coral Yáñez stands out for her public law and regulatory practice; Manuel Lobato is an expert in IP, particularly in patent litigation involving large pharmaceutical companies; and corporate partner Lourdes Ayala often advises life sciences clients on M&A and commercial matters.

DLA Piper has a global life sciences practice; in Spain, the team advises international pharmaceutical and medical devices companies on commercial, regulatory and data protection law. Paula González de Castejón, who benefits from experience on secondment in Pfizer and Abbott Medical, advises life sciences companies as well as IT companies looking to develop software for healthcare diagnosis or treatment. She leads the team with Diego Ramos, who has a broad IP, life sciences and technology practice.

The multi-disciplinary life sciences team at Hogan Lovells International LLP has experience in M&A, product liability and litigation involving healthcare and pharmaceutical companies. Ana Castedo is a name to note.

EU and public law expert Juan Manuel Rodríguez Cárcamo leads the healthcare and life sciences group at Pérez-Llorca, which advises on administrative and regulatory law matters as well as M&A in the sector. General Board of Official Pharmaceutical Colleges is among its important clients, and the firm's client base also includes major healthcare companies. Rafael Díaz is another key contact in the multi-disciplinary team.

Pharmaceutical companies and associations turn to Ramón y Cajal Abogados for regulatory and commercial advice, where they benefit from the vast experience of José Ignacio Vega, a former technical general secretary of the Ministry of Health. Norman Heckh brings his data protection expertise to the team, often advising major life sciences clients on the management of data, IT contracts and e-commerce.