Life Sciences, Healthcare, Pharmacology and Biotechnology

The life sciences and healthcare sectors are unique: fast-paced, innovative, disruptive and set in a highly regulated environment. Thanks to our holistic approach and deep industry knowledge, we understand those complexities and the unique challenges our clients face.  

Discover our Life Sciences Practice Group: let's navigate the legal landscape together, so you can focus on what you do best – advancing life sciences & healthcare solutions.

Healthcare and life sciences are as fascinating as they are complex: They deal with people's most immediate and pressing needs while, at the same time, working with development and investment horizons of ten or more years. They are driven by the most advanced and innovative research and technology, and still they move within tight regulatory constraints, shaped by concerns for public health and strict efficacy and safety requirements. They are truly universal and yet they are governed by a plethora of national, and often disparate, regulations.

Advising companies and other stakeholders in healthcare and life sciences requires in-depth knowledge of both the industry as well as its regulatory and legal environment. Kellerhals Carrard distinguishes itself by the fact that our Life Sciences, Healthcare, Pharma & Biotechnology department consists of attorneys who devote a large part of their practice to this field, and who have international pharma and healthcare experience and expertise as senior executives, lawyers, physicians, or civil servants in one of the top-tier global pharmaceutical companies, healthcare institutions or government agencies.

Our continuously expanding, highly specialized, innovative, and interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Healthcare, Pharma & Biotechnology department is one of the strongest in Switzerland. We advise clients of all sizes from start-ups to large multinationals, including pharma, biotech and medtech companies, hospitals, laboratories, manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors, on their most prominent and complex matters, both in Switzerland and abroad. We are locally rooted, regionally connected and have a broad international outreach through strategic partnerships with top-tier law firms in Europe, the Americas and APAC.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, we advised Moderna on legal and regulatory matters related to establishing the international supply chain and preparing for the launch of the vaccine in Switzerland, or Gilead on issues concerning regulatory aspects and reimbursement regarding the drug Remdesivir, which is approved for the treatment of COVID-19.

We are business minded. Our team advises on all matters related to the healthcare and life sciences fields, including:

• Regulatory advice and Healthcare Compliance
• Representations before authorities, investigations, litigation, and arbitration
• M&A, Startup Desk, financing (venture capital, private equity), cooperation (JV), IPO, and capital markets transactions
• Research & Development
• Contracts (supply and distribution, co-development, licensing, manufacturing)
• Pricing and reimbursement
• Digitalization and e-health (information governance, data protection, digital/online business)
• Intellectual property (IP strategy, licenses, development, manufacturing)
• Merger control and anti-trust (price differentiation, distribution, generic entry)
• Hospital cooperation and collaborations