LOS ANGELES—The California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) has named Covington partner Wade Ackerman to its board of directors.
Founded in 2015, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and other stakeholders to shape public policy, drive business solutions, and grow California’s life sciences innovation ecosystem. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors, and service providers.
Resident in the firm’s Los Angeles office, Mr. Ackerman advises clients on the evolving FDA regulatory landscape across a range of sectors, including drugs and biologics, medical devices and diagnostics, and digital health associated with drugs and traditional devices. He also serves as one of the firm’s leaders of its Digital Health Initiative, which brings together lawyers with expertise in the broad array of legal, regulatory, and policy issues affecting developers of digital health products and services.
Until June 2016, Mr. Ackerman served as Senior FDA Counsel to the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. In this role, he was involved in all major legislative initiatives, oversight hearings, and other Senate activities concerning the FDA and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. From January 2015 through June 2016, he helped negotiate many of the FDA-related provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act, including reforms to FDA’s review and approval of innovative drugs, regenerative therapies, devices, combination products, and digital health. He also worked closely with the FDA and other stakeholders as Congress examined legislative reforms in other key areas, including diagnostics/LDTs, cosmetics, and over-the-counter drugs.
Covington offers one of the largest and most comprehensive life sciences industry practices in the world, including dedicated regulatory, transactional, litigation, IP and privacy capabilities. The firm advises clients throughout a product’s life cycle, going beyond the traditional legal services to facilitate efficient and effective research and development, ensure successful launch and commercialization, and maximize the product’s franchise. Covington’s multi-disciplinary "life cycle management" approach enables the firm to quickly assimilate clients’ regulatory, intellectual property, and commercial goals, identify potential issues, and develop creative and novel approaches to maximize value for the client.
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