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NautaDutilh

NautaDutilh

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Netherlands

2

Industry focus: healthcare and life sciences

Fielding a ‘business minded’ team, NautaDutilh acts for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients on transactional matters, patent disputes and class action claims. The team is spearheaded by the ’extremely experienced’ Ruud Smits, who assists start-ups, scale-ups and investors with financing and broader deal-related work. Paul van der Bijl is a standout expert on high-value capital markets deals and public M&A in the life sciences space. Stijn Franken and Thijs van Aerde, who joined the firm in November 2024, are key contacts on contentious mandates. Former practice co-head Jeroen Boelens departed the firm in July 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Responsive, good listeners, open minded, business minded.'
  • ‘The team is knowledgeable and has a lot of experience in the life sciences VC sector.’
  • ‘Ruud Smits is our go to. He has a ton of experience, is an absolute specialist in the life sciences VC sector.’
  • ‘In the past year I've worked with Ruud Smits, whose broad experience and deep expertise I highly valued. When things are about to get too complicated or threaten to derail, I could count on Ruud's clear and pragmatic guidance to navigate complex issues.'
  • ‘The NautaDutilh team is well organised and the connections between their cross-border offices are genuine - key when managing a complex cross-border transaction.’
  • ‘Ruud Smits is an extremely experienced lawyer with a deep knowledge of the healthcare and life sciences sector. He is innovative in his solutions and supportive of internal teams.’

Key clients

  • Forbion
  • NewAmsterdam Pharma Company N.V.
  • Pharvaris
  • GSK
  • Adcytherix
  • Avania
  • EQT Life Sciences
  • The Protein Brewery
  • Lumicks
  • Mimetas
  • Onera Health
  • Galenicum

Work highlights

Assisted Stichting Ontwikkelfonds voor Organoïden on the sale of HUB Organoids to Merck KGaA.
Represented both Sandoz and Teva in a patent dispute against Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) concerning BMS’s patent EP 415.
Assisted CureVac as legal counsel on BioNTech’s $1.25bn strategic transaction to acquire CureVac in a public exchange offer.

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

Ruud Smits

Other key lawyers

Paul van der Bijl; Stijn Franken; Thijs van Aerde; Joppe Schoute; Lauren Delleman