With a particularly active healthcare and life sciences practice, Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s team is recognised for its expertise in matters relating to competition law, regulatory compliance, healthcare data processing, product liability and commercial litigation. At the helm of the practice, Mikael Salmela covers the entire scope of the product lifecycle in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device sectors, undertaking matters ranging from advising on clinical trial frameworks to negotiating high-value commercial agreements. Charlotte Damiano is regularly called upon by clients for regulatory and market access matters, as well as representing pharmaceutical and medical device companies in pricing and reimbursement disputes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Accolades

Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The team demonstrate a very solid and broad professional expertise; immediate responsiveness; and a proactive approach.'
  • ‘While we worked with a team, we truly were impressed with Mikael Salmela, who was truly exceptional as a partner. We would highly recommend him.’
  • ‘Joséphine Pour is a lawyer who stands out for her expertise in health law, pharmaceutical law, health regulations, and data protection law. Her strengths include in-depth expertise in several areas, excellent client relationship skills, and her willingness to take on new cases and answer our questions, as well as her meticulous case management.’
  • ‘The Hogan Lovells team is unique in that it includes members specializing in both healthcare law and data protection law. This dual expertise is essential for companies in the pharmaceutical sector and allows us to understand our legal environment comprehensively. This dual specialization is rare in this industry and sets Hogan Lovells apart from other firms in the support it offers.’
  • ‘A strong team with in-depth expertise on access and commercialization.’
  • ‘Charlotte Damiano is an exceptional expert.’

Key clients

  • Alexion Pharma
  • Rovi
  • Biogen
  • Merck & Co., Inc., and its French subsidiary MSD Vaccins
  • Hollister Inc.
  • F. Hoffmann La Roche AG

Work highlights

Assisted Alexion Pharma in a dispute that lasted approximately 10 years, seeking a reversal of the French Supreme Court’s (Cour de Cassation) historic case law on the deduction of rebates paid to the health insurance fund from the turnover of laboratories subject to social security contributions.
Assisting Merck & Co., Inc., and its French subsidiary MSD Vaccins, in the coordination and defence of product liability claims brought by French plaintiffs before the courts or before Commissions for Conciliation and Indemnification (CCIs) in relation to alleged adverse events of the vaccines Gardasil or Gardasil 9.
Assisted Rovi in challenging a clause imposed by the Economic Committee for Health Products, which is responsible for negotiating pharmaceutical products’ prices, requiring future price decreases to be aligned with generic comparators.

Lawyers

Leading partners

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Practice head

Mikael Salmela

Other key lawyers

Charlotte Damiano; Joséphine Pour