Covington’s Life Sciences Industry Group integrates the firm’s extensive transactional, regulatory and intellectual property experience to meet the specialized needs of life sciences companies. The lawyers in this group have substantial cross-disciplinary experience in these practice areas, as well as significant international experience in the major pharmaceutical markets, including practice experience in the European Union and Japan. This multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional approach enables us to quickly assimilate our clients’ regulatory, intellectual property and commercial goals, identify potential issues and, as appropriate, develop creative and novel approaches to maximize value for our clients. When problems arise, we are able to help clients respond quickly to achieve efficient and cost-effective solutions.
However, our experience extends beyond the traditional legal services offered by other firms. The life sciences industry operates at the nexus of a host of unique regulatory, intellectual property and commercial considerations that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Bringing a drug from the laboratory to the marketplace involves considerable time and expense, requiring an innovator to navigate numerous complex and interrelated legal and business requirements. We advise clients throughout a product’s life cycle to facilitate efficient and effective research and development, and successful launch and commercialization, as well as to maximize the product’s franchise; our "life cycle management" approach integrates regulatory and marketing strategies, including follow-on products, over-the-counter conversion, and patent and trademark protection. We have particular experience in advising clients on the interplay among the regulatory and patent opportunities presented by the Hatch-Waxman Act.
The firm provides a full range of transactional and advisory services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, veterinary and agricultural companies in the United States and abroad. Our clients include many of the major national and multinational pharmaceutical companies as well as a wide array of biotechnology, diagnostic and medical device companies, ranging from start-up ventures to industry leaders. We also represent the leading trade associations representing these industries, namely: the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), and the Animal Health Institute (AHI).
Representative Matters
- We represented a coalition of vaccine and drug manufacturers in legislative proceedings in the last session of Congress that led to the enactment of provisions to limit liability for drugs and vaccines for avian flu.
- We are assisting trade associations in negotiating new legislation to govern emerging technologies, such as gene therapy, cell processing, and pharmacogenetics in the European Union, and we regularly advise companies on strategies to bring their products to the market in the United States and Europe.
- We are advising companies and trade associations on policy matters relating to the development of procedures for approval of follow-on versions of biotechnology products for which patents have expired in the United States and Europe.
- In recent years we have handled a diverse range of transactions for a large number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, including Abbott Laboratories, Acorda Therapeutics, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Biosynexus, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CoTherix, Eisai, Emergent Biosolutions, Encysive, Genzyme, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, GPC Biotech, ImClone, King Pharmaceuticals, Medarex, Memory, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Riotech (UK), Schering-Plough, SkyePharma, Solazyme, Wyeth, and others.
- We presently serve as national coordinating counsel for Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in product liability litigation, national coordinating counsel for Purdue Pharma in antitrust and consumer protection litigation, and national coordinating counsel in all pharmaceutical products liability litigation for the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Washington, DC based trade association for nonprescription drug manufacturers.
Accolades
- Law360
- Firm
- Individual
- John Hurvitz - Life Sciences MVP (2012)
- Chambers Global (2013)
- Firm
- Life Sciences, Global-wide
- Life Sciences, Europe-wide
- Individual
- Life Sciences, Corporate/Commercial, Global-wide: John Hurvitz
- Life Sciences, Regulatory/Compliance, Global-wide: Peter Bogaert, Grant Castle, and Richard Kingham
- Chambers USA (2013)
- Firm
- Life Sciences, Nationwide
- Food & Beverages, Regulatory & Litigation, Nationwide
- Products Liability & Mass Torts, Nationwide
- Life Sciences, CA
- Healthcare, Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory, DC
- Individual
- Life Sciences, Corporate/Commercial, Nationwide: John Hurvitz, Emily Leonard, and James Snipes
- Life Sciences, Regulatory/Compliance, Nationwide: Richard Kingham and Peter Safir
- Food & Beverages, Regulatory & Litigation, Nationwide: Clausen Ely, Miriam Guggenheim, and Peter Barton Hutt
- Products Liability & Mass Torts, Nationwide: Mike Brock, Pat Davies, Paul Schmidt, and Theodore Voorhees
- Life Sciences, Corporate/Commercial, CA: Emily Leonard, James Snipes, and Amy Toro
- Healthcare, Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory, DC: Ellen Flannery, Peter Barton Hutt, Richard Kingham, Michael Labson, Gerald Masoudi, and Peter Safir
- Chambers UK (2013)
- Firm
- Life Sciences, UK-wide
- Life Sciences, Product Liability, UK-wide
- Life Sciences, Regulatory, UK-wide
- Life Sciences, Transactional, UK-wide
- Product Liability, Food, UK-wide
- Product Liability, Mainly Defendant, UK-wide
- Individual
- Life Sciences, Transactional, UK-wide: Paul Claydon, James Gubbins, and Daniel Pavin
- Life Sciences, Regulatory, UK-wide: Grant Castle and Richard Kingham
- Product Liability, Mainly Defendant, UK-wide: Brian Kelly
- Chambers Europe (2013)
- Firm
- Life Sciences, Europe-wide
- Chambers Asia (2013)
- Firm
- Life Sciences (International Firms), China
- Individual
- Life Sciences (International Firms), China: Shaoyu Chen, Weishi Li, and Jason Ma
- PLC Cross-border Super League
- Ranked 1st in the Life Sciences Regulatory Super League (2004-2011)
- Ranked 1st in the Life Sciences Industry Super League (2005-2010)
- PLC - Life Sciences, Which Law Firm? (2012)
- Leading: Life Sciences, England, EU, and USA
- Leading: Commercial and Partnering, England, and USA
- Leading: Competition/Anti-trust, EU
- Leading: Corporate, England
- Leading; Government Enforcement and Investigations, USA
- Leading: Regulatory, Belgium, England, EU, and USA
- Leading: Regulatory (Medical Devices), USA
- Highly Recommended: Life Sciences, Belgium
- Highly Recommended: Corporate, USA
- Highly Recommended: Patent Litigation, USA
- Highly Recommended: Pricing and Reimbursement, USA
- Highly Recommended: Product Liability, USA
- Recommended: Pricing and Reimbursement, England
- Recommended: Product Liability, England
- PLC - Life Sciences, Which Lawyer? (2012)
- Commercial and Partnering: John Hurvitz, Emily Leonard, Lucinda Osborne, Daniel Pavin, and James Snipes
- Corporate: James Beery, Bruce Bennett, Paul Claydon, Ellen Corenswet, James Gubbins, and Natalie Walter
- Regulatory: Peter Bogaert, Grant Castle, Peter Barton Hutt, Richard Kingham, Michael Labson, Gerald Masoudi, and Peter Safir
- Regulatory (Medical Devices): Ellen Flannery
- Competition/Anti-trust: Georg Berrisch and David Hull
- Government Enforcement and Investigations: Geoffrey Hobart, Mark Lynch, and Ethan Posner
- Patent Litigation: Paul Berman
- Product Liability: Robert Brock and Theodore Voorhees
- Legal 500 US (2013)
- Firm
- Healthcare – Life Sciences
- Healthcare – Health Insurers
- Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense – Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices
- Individual
- Healthcare – Life Sciences: Catherine Dargan, Ed Dixon, Ellen Flannery, John Hall, Geoffrey Hobart, John Hurvitz, Richard Kingham, Emily Leonard, Gerald Masoudi, Matthew O’Connor, and Peter Safir
- Healthcare – Health Insurers: Anna Engh and David Goodwin
- Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense – Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices: Mike Brock, Pat Davies, Michael Imbroscio, and Paul Schmidt
- Legal 500 UK (2012)
- Firm
- Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
- Product Liability – Defendant
- Individual
- Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology: Grant Castle, Lucinda Osborne, Morag Peberdy, and Kristian Wiggert
- Product Liability – Defendant: Brian Kelly
- Legal 500 EMEA (2013)
- Firm
- EU Regulatory - Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
- EU Regulatory - Food
- Individual
- EU Regulatory – Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology: Peter Bogaert and Cándido García Molyneux
- EU Regulatory – Food: Peter Bogaert
- LMG Life Sciences (2012)
- Firm
- Lifecycle Firm
- Highly Recommended: Finance & Transactional, Corporate
- Highly Recommended: Finance & Transactional, Licensing & Collaboration
- Highly Recommended: Non-IP Litigation, Government Investigations/Fraud & Abuse
- Highly Recommended: Non-IP Litigation, Competition and Antitrust
- Highly Recommended: Regulatory, FDA (Pharmaceutical)
- Highly Recommended: Regulatory, Healthcare, Pricing & Reimbursement
- Recommended: Intellectual Property, General Patent Litigation
- Recommended: Intellectual Property, Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation
- Recommended: Non-IP Litigation, Product Liability
- Recommended: Regulatory, FDA (Medical Devices)
- Individual
- Finance & Transactional: Edward Britton, Ellen Corenswet, Catherine Dargan, Bruce Deming, Edward Dixon, John Hurvitz, Emily Leonard, James Snipes, and Amy Toro
- Intellectual Property: Jeffrey Elikan, George Pappas, and Andrea Reister
- Non-IP Litigation and Enforcement: Robert Brock, Patrick Davies, James Dean, Timothy Hester, Mark Lynch, Ethan Posner, and Peter Safir
- Regulatory: Ellen Flannery, Peter Barton Hutt, Richard Kingham, Anna Kraus, Michael Labson, Gerald Masoudi, and Peter Safir
- Law360’s "Practice Group of the Year," Health (2011)
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