Europe - Switzerland

Lenz & Staehelin

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The team at Lenz & Staehelin acts for a broad range of clients across the biotech, diagnostics, and medical device industries on a wide range of matters, including IP disputes concerning supplementary protection certificates (SPC), and generics and biosimilars. The team is jointly led by Thierry Calame, Harold Frey, Xavier Favre-Bulle, Andreas Rötheli, and Guy Vermeil. In Geneva, Rötheli handles private equity buyouts and real estate issues; Vermeil maintains a technology and outsourcing based practice; and Favre-Bulle is noted for his longstanding experience in arbitrations concerning licences, joint ventures, and post-M&A disputes. In Zurich, IP expert Calame assists clients with licensing issues and copy right litigation, while Frey often handles international arbitrations and cases before Swiss courts, with his main area of focus being general contractual disputes.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Great firm, great team of lawyers. Experts in their field. Responsive and the advice is clear and concise, with clear risk assessments.’

  • ‘Very responsive and clear in their advice, they take a pragmatic approach and focus on solutions.’

Key clients

  • Abbott Laboratories
  • Alcon Inc.
  • Alpha Health Group
  • Altitude Management
  • Asceneuron
  • Bain Capital Private Equity
  • Cinven
  • Chord Therapeutics
  • Dacadoo
  • Keri Medical
  • Lonza
  • Manufacture Modules Technologies
  • Owners of the Ardentis group
  • Mepha/Teva
  • Merck & Co., Inc.
  • Morgan Stanley
  • MGI Tech
  • NovImmune SA
  • Obseva SA
  • Pfizer
  • Revance Therapeutics, Inc.
  • Surveyor Capital
  • swiss smile Schweiz AG
  • The Carlyle Group
  • Wyss Center

Work highlights

  • Represented Abbott before the Federal Supreme Court, resulting in a landmark decision on standing to sue in trademark invalidity proceedings under the Madrid System of trademarks. The decision was widely publicized and published in English in IIC.
  • Represented Acino Pharma in complex patent nullity proceedings against Euroceltique S.A. before the Federal Patent Court involving multiple patents in relation to pain relief.
  • Advised a group of investors led by SME Equity Partners and Co-Investor Partners on acquisition of Promedical AG, a Swiss suppliers of medical consumables and surgery kits.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Thierry Calame, Harold Frey, Xavier Favre-Bulle, Andreas Rötheli, Guy Vermeil