Team size: 11

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

Managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises requires a strategic approach that aligns with the broader business strategy. We ensure our legal strategy is integrated with the overall business strategy by embedding lawyers in commercial teams. This leads to a better understanding of their priorities and challenges. Our experienced legal team navigates complex legal landscapes with confidence, leveraging their deep understanding of regulatory requirements and industry-specific risks. This is crucial during crises and helps us identify business opportunities. Flexibility and agility are key. We maintain adaptable legal frameworks to respond quickly to changing circumstances, enabling effective responses to new regulations, market conditions, and unforeseen challenges. Rapid response is critical, so we have protocols to accelerate decision-making processes, ensuring timely legal interventions that mitigate risks and protect the company. Our focus is to safeguard the company’s interests through proactive risk management, comprehensive compliance checks, and robust contingency planning. By integrating these elements, we ensure our legal strategy addresses immediate challenges and supports long-term organizational resilience.

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?

We successfully managed several major product launches from both a legal and a commercial perspective and oversaw various significant litigation proceedings. Addressing supply shortages while ensuring patient safety and compliance with relevant laws was another key focus for us throughout the past year. Additionally, the increased public attention toward the company resulted in a substantial rise in media requests, which we handled from a legal standpoint.

How have you integrated technology into your legal processes, and what impact has this had on efficiency and compliance?

Integrating technology into our legal and compliance processes is a top priority for us. We manage contracts through digital systems, enabling fast and effective digital workflows for compliance reviews and approvals. We also use digital technology to ensure compliance by maintaining comprehensive documentation of business transactions. With a focus on agility and flexibility, we increasingly incorporate AI tools wherever feasible.

What role does the legal department play in promoting and ensuring corporate social responsibility in your organisation?

In our organisation, the Legal & Compliance department plays a crucial role in promoting and ensuring corporate social responsibility. As a key enabler, we collaborate closely with public affairs and other relevant functions to align our CSR initiatives with legal requirements. The regulatory framework in the pharmaceutical industry is generally stringent, and this applies to CSR as well. By ensuring compliance with these stringent and ever-changing legal standards, we help safeguard the company’s integrity and reputation. Our proactive approach includes advising on ethical practices and monitoring regulatory changes, thereby supporting sustainable and responsible business operations.