Life Sciences | Asia-Pacific

Allens' widely respected practice offers a comprehensive range of skills to the life sciences industry, based on long experience advising both public and private sector players. Its life sciences team serves clients in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotech sectors as well as in areas such as agriculture and food sciences. Its team is in high demand where multiple levels of expertise are required, from corporate, merger, licensing and taxation questions to regulatory compliance, drawing upon the resources of the wider firm where required. The firm is especially renowned for its robust approach to the protection and enforcement of IP rights and active on merger clearance and other competition and consumer law issues. Notable clients include Pfizer, KKR and Telstra Health.

The well-resourced Clayton Utz group offers a full suite of life sciences-focused expertise, including patent protection, transactional and competition issues, and is regularly identified as a top choice to guide clients through regulatory regimes. The firm boasts an impressive client roster that includes national and global pharmaceutical, biotech, complementary medicine, medical device and healthcare companies, plus government agencies at Commonwealth, state and local levels. Its expertise also extends to product liability and privacy issues. Notable clients include Bayer, Novartis and Philips Electronics.

The MinterEllison team offers an outstanding breadth of fully integrated interdisciplinary skills, providing an end-to-end service to clients. In addition to IP and regulatory know-how, the firm's offering includes finance, venture capital, M&A and tax advice. Lawyers and patent attorneys, with an impressive range of technical and scientific qualifications, including those relating to cutting-edge biosciences, act for clients ranging from startups to multinational pharmaceutical and biotech companies, plus many Commonwealth and state-level health departments and agencies, leading hospitals and research institutes, and key life sciences-focused funds. Its notable clients include Invisalign, Accrue Therapeutics and AVet Health.

Baker McKenzie fields a multi-skilled group with a well-established reputation in the healthcare industry, in demand for its knowledge of global markets generally and of those in Asia-Pacific in particular, facilitated by its membership of a well-integrated international network and buttressed by extensive in-house experience of employment in the medtech and pharmaceutical industries. Its life sciences team works with global pharma, medical device and healthcare corporates, offering a full suite of services from M&A and competition to IP, regulatory and R&D matters, coordinated, where appropriate, with those provided by international colleagues. The team is active in providing Australian and regional clients with seminars on the latest legal, regulatory and technological developments. Its key clients include GSK, Medtronic and Cochlear.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth maintains its well-established track record of acting for life sciences clients, offering a comprehensive range of skills, often enhanced by sector-relevant academic qualifications, to global and local pharma, biotech and consumer product companies. The firm tackles both litigious and advisory work, including patent litigation, regulation, competition, and the supply and pricing of medicines. Additionally, it assists clients with related corporate, structuring and M&A and tax issues, drawing where appropriate on the wider resources of the firm. Corrs Chambers Westgarth is further noted for its ability to maintain longstanding relationships with established clients or to attract repeat engagements from more recent ones. Its notable clients include AFT Pharmaceuticals, Mundipharma and Takeda Pharmaceutical.

Norton Rose Fulbright's Australian life sciences team forms part of a global offering with a particularly strong practice across the Asia-Pacific region. Its areas of specialism include corporate and M&A, product liability, IP, litigation and regulatory advice, assisting clients with all facets of the commercialisation of products, and offering particularly noted coverage of the pharma and biotech life-cycles. Its team acts for global pharmaceutical corporates, healthcare and personal product companies and leading medical research institutions. Its key clients include Sonic Healthcare, Hydroganics and Mind Medicine.

DLA Piper's impressive team incorporates many members with relevant scientific and engineering qualifications, and acts on transactional matters, contentious and non-contentious IP and non-IP-related litigation, including product liability cases, being particularly active in patent litigation. Its team serves a prestigious clientele, comprising major pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, as well as investors. The firm offers a particularly strong concentration of US market-related experience and draws on the resources of a strong global network able to provide jurisdiction-appropriate expertise across multiple practice areas. Its noted clients include Pfizer, SmileDirectClub and Neurim Pharmaceuticals.

Mills Oakley maintains a specialist practice staffed by lawyers with extensive sector-relevant academic qualifications and industry experience, covering a comprehensive range of issues and with especially focused expertise in the areas of therapeutic goods regulation, patent litigation and medical cannabis issues. The firm is also noted for its representation of clients involved in the development of new treatments and technologies, prominently including businesses whose products challenge regulatory boundaries and require strong representation to government bodies and in the media, and for advice on commercialisation, competition and product liability questions. Key clients include Drive DeVilbiss, the Australian Institute of Medicinal Cannabis and Epsilon Healthcare.

Bird & Bird is widely recognised for its strong practice, which assists life sciences clients with intellectual property matters, including patent and trade mark disputes. Its life sciences team also acts for clients on competition disputes and product liability matters. Its clients include major pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, universities and research bodies, including First Pharma, Haleon and Troy Laboratories.

Gilbert + Tobin's life sciences offering includes advising pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies on a host of regulatory and compliance issues relevant to their businesses. The firm draws upon deep expertise in life sciences to advise companies on Australia-specific issues as well as transactions that span various jurisdictions. Gilbert + Tobin is also noted for its reputation in IP litigation. Key clients of the firm include the NSW Ministry of Health, Elanco and Viatris.