The ‘excellent’ team at A&O Shearman assists a diverse range of companies across the biotech, medical device, and consumer healthcare industries on the full gamut of contentious and non-contentious issues. The group often dispenses advice on capital markets issues, and licensing and collaboration agreements. Jim Ford and Matthew Appleton jointly lead the practice; Ford has deep knowledge spanning product distribution agreements, patent licensing, and product development collaborations, while Appleton leads on the transactional side of the practice, often advising large pharmaceuticals companies on public takeovers and private M&A. Praised for her ‘vast amounts of experience’, patent litigator Marjan Noor has expansive expertise in supplementary protection certificates and the enforcement of strategies. Rafi Allos has ‘great knowledge’ and regulatory expertise, often acting in disputes concerning generics.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Jim Ford has a practical approach to problem solving.’
‘Allen & Overy London is one of the top practices in the UK Life sciences and healthcare patent litigation market. The size and breadth of the team is excellent, particularly the quality of the talent.'
'Marjan Noor has a technical background and is one of the most experienced lawyers in the UK for patent litigation and regulatory issues, particularly in the biologics cases.'
‘Marjan Noor is excellent and has vast amounts of experience, especially in biologics cases. She would be a go to partner for most important UK patent litigation cases. She knows the market and what the client wants very well, and is on top of the latest trends and developments.'
- 'Rafi Allos is very knowledgeable about the market and a tactician when it comes to strategy, and has great knowledge of pharmaceutical regulatory law.'
- 'Tom Edwards is a rising star with very deep technical understanding. He is great to work with and provides solid technical support to a matter.'
Key clients
- Kyowa Kirin International
- Exscientia
- Shionogi
- Bayer
- Regeneron
Work highlights
- Advised Kyowa Kirin International on its joint venture collaboration with Grünenthal in respect of KKI’s established medicines portfolio.
- Advised Bayer on the enforcement and defence of its patents across Europe protecting its product, Xarelto, a blood thinner.
- Advised Exscientia on a research collaboration and licence agreement to develop up to 15 novel small molecule candidates across oncology and immunology, leveraging Exscientia’s AI-driven platform utilising actual patient samples.
Lawyers
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Leading partners
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Next Generation Partners
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Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Jim Ford, Matthew Appleton