Life sciences

The members of our life sciences team can draw on their solid experience and multidisciplinary expertise as legal counsel in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical sector. We have deep understanding of the key points of attention when growing a young life sciences business into a listed company or a target for big pharma.

We are exceptionally versed in guiding life sciences transactions and investment rounds. Our team also has extensive experience in structuring and negotiating sector-specific contracts, including licensing, technology transfer, consortium agreements and R&D partnerships. We further ensure that intellectual property rights are strategically deployed and contractually protected, keeping in mind both legal risks and commercial opportunities.

In addition, we support companies and research institutions in dealing with patent disputes and the protection of business-sensitive information. We act in patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes, and proactively advise on risk management and contractual protection.

Some of our references

• Assistance to Gilead, Galapagos’ reference shareholder, in Galapagos’ demerger into two listed entities, including a SpinCo with approximately 2.45 billion euros in cash and certain material pharmaceutical contracts (2025);
• Representing the Belgian State in a dispute with a US cancer research institute over the grant of a supplementary protection certificate (extension of a pharmaceutical patent) on a cancer treatment (2021-2025);
• Assistance to several life sciences companies regarding their internal governance and organizational structure (2024-2025);
• Assistance to a consortium of new investors (consisting of a.o. EQT Life Sciences, V-Bio Ventures, VIVES Partners, SFPIM, WallonieEntreprendre and Sambrinvest) in the successful 54 million euros series A financing round of ATB Therapeutics, a company dedicated to the development of breakthrough biologics incorporating novel cell-killing mechanisms, including enzymatic functionalities, in targeted antibodies (2024);
• Assistance to the management team of the Duomed group on the exit of private equity fund G Square, and the entry of Palex Medical (a portfolio company of private equity funds Apax and Fremman Capital) into the capital, including the negotiation and implementation of management’s reinvestment in the merged group (2024);
• Assistance to Multipharma in acquiring the pharmacy business of Goed, consisting of 88 pharmacies and a pharmaceutical wholesaler (2024);
• Assistance to The Organic Consumer Group (a subsidiary of Damier) with the acquisition of La Saponaria, an Italian manufacturer and distributor of natural and sustainable personal care products (2024);
• Assistance to the Duomed Group on various aspects of medical devices distribution, including drafting and negotiating distribution contracts and advising on the regulatory framework on medical devices distribution in the European Union;
• Advising on a clinical trial agreement between a dietary supplement manufacturer and a Belgian hospital (2024);
• Assistance to a Belgian university in contract negotiations on a cancer detection testing method, where a competitor of the method’s manufacturer claimed patent infringement in several European countries, including Belgium (2024);
• Assistance to the European Innovation Council Fund in investing in more than 30 companies, including several life sciences companies (2021-2024);
• Assistance to A.forall Group (formerly Alter Pharma) with the acquisition of EcoPharmaSupply (2022);
• Assistance to Acacia Pharma Group (Euronext Brussels-listed), in relation to its agreement with Eagle Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq-listed), on a proposed transfer of all shares in Acacia to Eagle by way of a scheme of arrangement (2022);
• Assistance to LSP Hef 2 in the 12 million euros series A financing round of Nobi (2022);
• Assistance to V-Bio Ventures with the launch of the 78 million euros V-Bio Fund 2 and their EuVECA application (2021-2022);
• Assistance to International Horizon Scanning Initiative ICZW/AISBL in the development of a joint “horizon scanning” system (searching for (pharmaceutical) products in development with an important financial and clinical impact) and the establishment of an international not-for-profit vehicle (2021-2022);
• Assistance to Fortress Investment Group on its equity investment in Celyad Oncology (listed) (2021);
• Assistance to Rejuveron Life Sciences AG Vesalius Biocapital III S.C.A. SICAR in the 15 million euros series B financing round of Rejuvenate Biomed (2021);
• Assistance to Damier Group with the acquisition of Dr. Organic (2021);
• Assistance to Damier Group with the acquisition of Cooper Consumer Healthcare in partnership with CVC (2021);
• Assistance to Calliditas Therapeutics with the acquisition of a 62.7% interest in Genkyotex, followed by a mandatory public takeover bid and a squeeze-out bid for the shares of the minority shareholders of Genkyotex (2020-2021);
• Assistance to Hyloris Pharmaceuticals with its successful 62 million euros IPO and listing on Euronext Brussels (2020);
• Assistance to Soros Economic Development Fund in the context of the 70 million euros series C financing of Univercells (2020);
• Assistance to Acacia Pharma Group in its 30 million euros capital increase through an accelerated bookbuild offering with institutional investors (2020);
• Assistance to Crédit Mutuel Innovation and Debiopharm Innovation Fund with the investment in Oncomfort (2020);
• Assistance to Gilead in the framework of a ten-year worldwide R&D collaboration with Galapagos (the biggest equity investment transaction in Belgium in recent years) (2019);
• Assistance to Vision Healthcare in the context of its 35 million euros capital increase (2019);
• Assistance to the new investors in the 64 million euros series B financing round of iTeos Therapeutics (2018);
• Assistance to Ablynx in the context of the hostile public takeover bid by Novo Nordisk and the subsequent 3.9 billion euros voluntary public takeover bid by Sanofi (2018).