Matthias Ulshöfer

Matthias Ulshöfer provides comprehensive advice on all matters of public procurement and antitrust law and regularly represents clients in proceedings before public procurement tribunals, the German Federal Cartel Office, the European Commission and all procurement courts.

He is frequently instructed in legally sophisticated, complex or innovative procurement projects, most recently including the licensing of space surveillance systems, the award of concessions for wind farms in state-owned forests and a complex tender procedure for bicycle leasing schemes for the civil servants and employees of the state administration. He advises on major infrastructure procurement projects, including broadband network expansion, as well as procurements in the security and defence sectors.

For many years, he has been one of the leading advisers on procurements in the healthcare sector, including the procurement of pharmaceuticals by statutory health insurers through so-called rebate contracts. In this context, he represents numerous well-known national and international pharmaceutical companies, both on procurement matters and in connection with contract implementation. He has successfully obtained a number of landmark decisions, including on the admissibility of multi-partner models, substance-based lot structuring and open-house procedures before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Most recently, he secured one of the first fundamental decisions defeating high-value damages claims against pharmaceutical companies for alleged supply failures – a ruling of considerable significance for the entire generics industry and the long-term sustainability of pharmaceutical procurement.

In addition, he advises on all issues at the interface with public procurement law. This includes competition law aspects relating to self-cleaning measures and the deletion of entries from the competition register of the German Federal Cartel Office. He acts in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy proceedings before the European Commission, more recently also in connection with foreign subsidies proceedings and questions concerning market access for third-country suppliers.

Matthias Ulshöfer is author of numerous specialist publications on competition and public procurement law and is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences.