Nordic Life Science 1
BUSINESS L EGAL ADV I CE Advancing transactions i
n the life science space Hanneke Later-Nijland is an attorney-at-law and a trained pharmacist from the Netherlands who recently launched The Genotype Network, a network for corporate and regulatory lawyers specialized in life sciences. T E X T B Y MA L I N O T MA N I DESCRIBE THE PURPOSE OF THE NEW NETWORK? “The purpose is to add value, and more specifically to advance transactions in the life science space in every aspect, next to securing life science regulatory law as a building block in these transactions.” Who can join and what can members expect? “It is meant for two “genotypes” of lawyers; corporate (M&A) lawyers and life science regulatory (Regs) lawyers. In general, European corporate lawyers are somewhat less specialized compared to their US counterparts. For example, in the US there are “life science transactional lawyers,” lawyers dedicated to life sciences. So, this is where our network comes in. It enables M&A lawyers to pitch more confidently, as they will have the life science expertise at their fingertips.” “Moreover, as I have a double background myself, I have always experienced the non-proportional added value of being able to tap into the two worlds.” Why is collaboration between regulatory lawyers and M&A lawyers important within life sciences? “We are on the verge of harvesting the fruits of the Bio Revolution and deals in this sector are becoming increasingly complex, and therefore need regulatory prowess. Our goal is to provide access to highly specialized and experienced regulatory lawyers on a global scale. In this way, corporate and regulatory lawyers shall work on a deal together much more smoothly and efficiently than ever before. So, together we ensure that the buy-side performs the most optimal due diligence possible, including more innovative analyzes of the target. With the latter, I mean that in the context of cell and gene therapy or biomaterials, we preferably work with technical experts too. Moreover, even the largest global law firms do not have this type of life sciences expertise in each jurisdiction, but this network does.” What issues can the network help to solve? “In several (confidential) cases we have seen that the regulatory status of a product as can be derived from the information provided does not always exactly coincide with what the buyers expect or assume. Several public cases also show that the physical material (or biomaterial) of a medical device can be disastrous for a buying company. I am for example thinking of Philips’ Dreamstation, where the foam appeared to be toxic. They wrote down 1.3 billion EUR on the value of the sleep apnea business and the shares fell to their lowest in a decade. Now, that is rather a nightmare, perhaps even an unintended Trojan horse, but in the end we have seen more issues with medical devices and (bio-)materials, for example when it comes to hip prostheses. Personally, I think it shows that the costs come before the benefit; a thorough due diligence is sensible before you take the leap. However, you have to make sure that you select the right professionals. The lawyers in our network are though leaders in the life science sector with at least a decade of experience. Moreover, they know how to draft the regulatory milestones in an efficient manner.” NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE 39