13 May 2020
Bird & Bird advised Materia on its acquisition of German licensed medicinal cannabis distributor Cannaktiv
www.twobirds.com/en/news/press-releases/2020/germany/bird-beraet-materia-beim-erwerb-von-cannaktiv

Bird & Bird LLP advised Materia on the acquisition of all shares in German licensed medicinal cannabis distributor Cannaktiv GmbH. The deal provides Materia – an international manufacturer and distributor of medicinal ...

04 November 2019
Are German Courts the “Spoilsport” of the “Divisional Game” when it comes to Preliminary Injunction Requests?
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/germany/are-germany-courts-the-spoilsport-of-the-divisional-game-when-it-comes-to

If a patentee undertakes actions with respect to a patent of the same patent family (e.g. waiving the parent patent of a divisional patent), this is often negatively characterised as playing the “Divisional Game”. We ...

07 February 2019
German Federal Patent Court denies request for preliminary grant of a compulsory license – Where do we go from here?
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/germany/german-federal-patent-court-denies-request-for-preliminary-grant-of-compulsory-license

Sanofi sought a compulsory licence for the distribution of its high cholesterol drug Praluent® but this was dismissed in preliminary proceedings (docket no: 3 LiQ 1/18).

02 July 2019
Transfer of value: amendments to the French “anti-gift” provisions by the draft Health Act
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/global/transfer-of-value-amendments-to-the-french-anti-gift-provisions-by-the-draft-health-act

The French so-called “anti-gift” provisions strictly frame the conditions under which companies in the health sector are allowed to provide advantages, in cash or in kind, to healthcare professionals ("HCPs”)

12 November 2019
PI for Tadalafil Dosage Patent refused in Italy
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/italy/pi-for-tadalafil-dosage-patent-refused-in-italy

By decisions dated 30 July 2018, then confirmed in the appeal by decisions dated 30 August 2018, the Court of Milan dismissed PI requested by ICOS and its licensee Eli Lilly against Sandoz, ascertaining the prima facie ...

07 October 2019
Dutch competition authority ACM publishes a sector report on the impact of biosimilars on competition between TNF-alfa inhibitors
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/netherlands/dutch-competition-authority-acm-publishes-a-sector

The Dutch competition authority, ACM, initiated a market study in 2018 into the effect of the introduction of biosimilars on the competition between TNF alfa inhibitors. TNF-alfa inhibitors are biological medicines that ...

30 September 2019
Bird & Bird secures win in preliminary injunction patent case before the Düsseldorf Courts
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/germany/bird-and-bird-secures-win-in-preliminary-injunction-patent-case-before-the-dusseldorf-courts

On September 26, 2019, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf confirmed on appeal that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Teva”) – one of Bird & Bird’s key clients – is entitled to a preliminary injunction against ...

18 September 2019
When does speaking badly about your competitors become a competition law problem?
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/global/when-does-speaking-badly-about-your-competitors-become-a-competition-law-problem

Following seminal “denigration” cases from the French, Danish and Italian competition authorities, our competition team looks into this new practice of exclusionary abuse.

06 September 2019
China passed new amendments to the Drug Administration Law
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/global/china-passed-new-amendments-to-the-drug-administration-law

On 26 August 2019, China's National People's Congress passed the final amendments to the Drug Administration Law ("DAL"), which will take effect on 1 December 2019. The DAL was first enacted in 1984, then substantively ...

05 February 2019
"Effective enforcement of EU competition rules in the pharmaceutical law remains a matter of high priority…"
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/global/effective-enforcement-of-eu-competition-rules-in-pharmaceutical-law

So notes the Commission's report on competition enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector (2009-2017) published at the end of January 2019.