Founded in Paris in 1920, Gide is a leading international law firm with 12 offices spread throughout the world.
Gide is physically present in six regions of the world, with 11 offices, enabling it to act on cases globally.
Gide has a long tradition of excellence in advising and defending companies active in the health sector. Throughout its offices worldwide, members of Gide’s Life Sciences & Health Care practice have been assisting pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, cosmetics and healthcare product manufacturers, healthcare facilities and public or private institutions implementing healthcare policies on a daily basis. The team also provides legal representation and assistance when disputes arise in relation to these activities and in particular during investigations carried out by national and/or European authorities.
COVID-19 | All Gide's practice groups are on-hand to answer any related legal issues. Download here their latest insights to help you deal with the various measures taken by the States and the consequences businesses might be facing. Click here to read more about our specific organisation to face Covid-19.
Gide’s Life Sciences & Health Care practice keeps a close eye on all developments relating to medicines policies, legislative reforms, biotechnology or control of medical risks, all the while assessing the practical impact of these changes from the point of view of substantive law.
Our main areas of expertise are as follows:
The Life Sciences & Health Care practice is called upon for its comprehensive expertise by pharmaceutical clients in their M&A transactions, ranging from simple portfolio disposals/acquisitions (including obtaining regulatory authorizations) to more complex asset combinations, outsourcing of manufacturing, restructurings and disposals/acquisitions of subsidiaries. The team helps established and emerging life science companies negotiate and structure deals that will help foster their growth and reach their goals. More specifically, our services dedicated to leading and emerging life science companies include:
Our team is a key player in representing emerging life science companies and venture funds and is very active in private investments and IPOs.
The scope of Gide’s work in life sciences and healthcare covers all aspects of intellectual property, particularly patents and Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs), but also trademarks.
As regards patents and SPCs, Gide provides both advisory services, particularly on freedom to operate issues, and dispute resolution services, often in relation to pan-European patents and SPCs. The Life Sciences & Health Care Practice team also has experience in advising on issues surrounding employee inventions, including government officials.
Gide’s expertise in litigation of pharmaceutical and life-science patents is widely recognized. With one of the largest specialist IP teams in France, Gide has acted successfully in the biggest cases of the past twenty years, and was at the center of recent battles on the interpretation of the European Regulation on SPCs.
Gide advises on regulatory healthcare issues and has unique expertise advising on matters with high technological content, whether contracts relating to IP rights and know-how (assignments, licenses, R&D agreements, partnerships between manufacturers and universities, etc.) or intra-group restructuring. These activities are further enhanced by Gide’s comprehensive experience in dispute resolution.
Our firm also advises clients on matters relating to trademarks and unfair competition / free riding in relation to medicines, medical devices and cosmetic products.
Gide advises clients on rules applicable to personal health data, whether issued in the context of Directive 95/46 (including the MR 001 Reference Methodology on clinical trials), or related to health data providers.
The Life Sciences & Health Care practice team assists clients in ensuring the compliance of their data processing and activities, as well as in preparing the relevant filing formalities.
On these sometimes sensitive issues, the team assists clients in their contact with Data Protection Authorities, including in case of investigation/audit.
Gide also advises clients on international health data transfers, including outside the EU, when these are required by the client's activities.
Gide provides its clients with advice regarding the distribution and marketing of pharmaceutical products, medical devices, chemical products, food, food supplements and cosmetics, with particular expertise in:
Gide regularly assists major pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers in this latter area.
The Life Sciences & Health Care Practice team has gained extensive experience in guiding and assisting clients on regulatory issues regarding medicinal products, medical devices, biocide products, human cells/tissues, cosmetics and food, including:
The team is experienced in risk management strategies and compliance with requirements in the case of adverse events (including pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance obligations).
Gide also assists companies in obtaining the licenses and registrations necessary for the operation or manufacturing, distribution or promotion of medicinal products and/or services, the practice of medicine or the operation of healthcare facilities and public or private institutions.
The Life Sciences & Health Care practice enjoys solid experience in analyzing the relationships of health sector companies with medical practitioners and chemists. Gide regularly reviews commercial practices for compliance with rules on medical ethics (namely rules against gifts to medical practitioners) and acts before professional associations for the clearance of cooperation agreements with medical practitioners (clinical trials, R&D, etc.).
The team is highly experienced in preparing codes of conduct and compliance programs and procedures, and regularly assists clients in drafting and implementing compliance programs that are suited to their specific needs (audit of distribution networks, assessment of practices according to the geographical location, etc.).
On an international level, Gide provides its clients with advice on compliance and prevention of risks related to their presence in various countries.
Gide is a recognized practitioner in the field of medical liability and health products safety. In particular, the team assists and represents its clients on product liability issues, through expert procedures and court actions, including negotiating settlement agreements with patients.
Gide assists in implementing recall procedures with public authorities, preventing and coordinating civil, criminal and disciplinary litigation at both national and international levels.
The team is currently acting in several proceedings before French courts for major product liability issues on behalf of its clients and monitors several significant expert proceedings.
The Life Sciences and Health Care practice team is frequently instructed to assess the compliance with competition law of commercial and cooperation agreements (such as R&D agreements, joint ventures, licensing agreements, parallel imports, etc.) in the pharmaceutical industry.
Gide also represents its clients before the European Commission and the national competition authorities in merger control clearance and/or antitrust proceedings.
Our team handles all aspects relating to the advertising of medical products (comparative advertising, misleading advertising, prohibition of advertising prescription medicine) and of medical practitioners.
Best known for its intellectual property and patent litigation work, the practice at Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. advises leading laboratories, venture funds, and emerging life sciences companies. Practice co-head Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier has a wealth of experience handling both domestic and pan-European patent disputes, and Jean-Hyacinthe de Mitry specialises in unfair competition and protection of trade secrets. Dimitri Dimitrov has expertise in competition and distribution law, and jointly leads the team alongside Emmanuel Larere, Arnaud Duhamel, and Anne Tolila.
Legal 500 EMEA 2023 - Industry Focus : Healthcare & Life Sciences
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. assiste de grands nombreux laboratoires français et internationaux. La pratique santé du cabinet est particulièrement reconnue pour sa grande compétence en contentieux des brevets. L’équipe s’est récemment distinguée en obtenant la reconnaissance et l'extension de plusieurs brevets de ses clients. Elle gère régulièrement des actions en contrefaçon et en nullité. Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier est recommandée pour ces aspects. Participent également à la pratique : Dimitri Dimitrov qui est un spécialiste du droit de la concurrence et de la distribution; la toujours «parfaitement informée» Anne Tolila qui traite des dossiers transactionnels; et Arnaud Duhamel qui est très réputé pour les opérations sur les marchés actions concernant le secteur de la santé.
Legal 500 Paris 2022 - Santé et Sciences de la vie
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.’s cross-practice expertise makes it a first-choice firm for emerging life sciences companies and venture funds. With a strong offering in patent litigation, the firm also attracts high-profile patent disputes, such as advising Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH on the French aspects of a multijurisdictional patent infringement case against Mylan regarding a patent covering an injection pen. Co-head of the practice Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier focuses principally on patent and trademark disputes in the life sciences sector. Dimitri Dimitrov specialises in co-operation agreements and distribution networks in France and overseas, and represents companies in litigation, namely for the abrupt termination of commercial relationships. Jean-Hyacinthe de Mitry is the go-to lawyer for IP in life sciences. Arnaud Duhamel has a clear focus on equity capital markets. On the transactional side, Anne Tolila is the name to note.
Legal 500 EMEA 2022
With a client list featuring leading domestic and global laboratories, the practice at Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. is best known for its strength in patent litigation, covering the full range of related work. Highlights in the last year have included the granting and extension of patents, in addition to infringement and nullity actions; Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier is the name to note for this work. Other key lawyers include Dimitri Dimitrov, who specialises in competition and distribution matters; the 'extremely knowledgeable' Anne Tolila, who handles transactional mandates; and Arnaud Duhamel, who is highly regarded for equity capital markets work in the sector, with a practice focused on securities offerings.
Legal 500 EMEA 2021
