CANADA FIRM ANALYSIS
Firm Briefings
watch in this highly contentious space.” Clients agree with the firm’s competitors and point to the Gilbert’s breadth of experience as a reason for their achievements. “The real key to their success in this type of litigation is their understanding of the industry law as a whole,” argues one client. “Because of all of the support they have in other practice areas, they can remain very relevant defending clients in class action suits.” Goodmans Intellectual Property: Generic manufacturers often turn to Goodmans when challenging branded adversaries. “There is no firm or no group of litigators that do for generic clients what Goodmans can do for theirs,” says one rival. The firm’s major client is Apotex, now Canada’s largest producer of generic drugs with over $1 billion a year in sales in reported revenues. “The firm has carried Apotex into the market and they are not going anywhere for a long time,” adds one practitioner. Leading the charge for Goodmans are partners Harry Radomski and Andrew Brodkin. One rival notes that Radmoski “is really the best litigator in [Canada’s] PMNOC proceedings and to see him on the other side of the courtroom is never a great site for branded heavyweights,” while another explains that Brodkin is “the hardest working attorney in the country with an immense amount of talent.” Radomski and Brodkin have worked together for over a decade, creating an all-world litigation team for clients like Apotex. “The two of them together is a scary proposition for any challengers of their client’s patents,” affirms another of the group’s peers. Gowlings Lafleur Henderson Regulatory: It only takes one hand to count the number of firms that have the same life sciences capabilities as Gowlings La?eur Henderson. “They personify the ‘do-it-all’ approach that has made so many life sciences firms in the US successful, but it all begins with their regulatory practice,” explains one practitioner. Gowlings’ Drug Pricing & Reimbursement (DPR) group is referred to by peers as “one of the industry’s finest.” They represented both Shire Canada and Janssen-Ortho in separate proceedings before the PMPRB involving the Adderall XR and Concerta, respectively. Gowlings also comes highly-regarded for their regulatory work in labeling and advertising. Partner Joel Taller is viewed by peers as “one of the industry’s foremost authorities on all things regulatory.” Taller assists firm clients with regulatory concerns that may put a pause on any potential transactions and was part of a team that advised specialty food manufacturer SunOpta in a divestiture of its Canadian natural health products distribution business. “We can only say the best things about our experience working with the firm,” raves one client. “We entered the Canadian marketplace very concerned about their regulatory proceedings as we were so unfamiliar with them. Gowlings assisted us every step of the way and we have no regrets about using the firm.” Intellectual Property: Gowlings’s patent group has a long list of attorneys, patent agents, and in some cases, like partner Judy Erratt, instances where partners are also registered patent agents. A colleague notes that the firm’s “extensive focus on staffing their patent group with as many versatile attorneys as they can” as a
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main reason for Gowlings’s success in non-contentious IP matters. This is especially helpful in Canada where there is more of an emphasis on patent agents collaborating with attorneys to help create better patent portfolios for clients. Praised by her competition for being “the most active attorney in the life sciences patent world,” Erratt has created a unique practice within the North American market. She is a registered patent agent in both the United States and Canada, allowing her the ability to assist her clients’ patent needs on both sides of the border. She was part of the Gowlings team that represented Bayer BioScience NV in multiparty actions for patent rights involving some of the earliest plant genetic engineering work in the country. Life sciences industry group chair Konrad Sechley is a legend in the space. “He truly is a rock star and is one of the top guys to ever work in the field,” believes one competitor. Sechley led the patent prosecution group at the firm and has worked with industry clients such as Iogen and Medicago on non-contentious patent matters. “In my opinion, this is the best group the firm has within the life sciences industry,” describes one attorney about the patent litigation team at Gowlings. Another peer affirms that sentiment, calling the patent litigation team, “Not only the best in Canada, but also the best in North America.” Sanofi and Eli Lilly are among the firm’s biggest clients and the firm has represented them on numerous matters against generic competition in the marketplace. “He has always been one of the best since he began working in the life sciences industry and continues to make a significant impact on the industry,” raves one peer about partner Anthony Creber. Most recently, Creber represented Novartis and was able to get two impeachment (opposition) actions dismissed. The claims were brought by Teva and Apotex against Novartis relating to the compound patent for Novartis’ breakthrough cancer drug, Gleevec. The firm’s clients in this space are amazed by their attorney’s abilities. “We went to them with a long list of potential patents – we worried that it would take so much time, and we would lose money. They helped us very speedily, and we were able to create several patent portfolios that have remained untouched to this day,” enthuses one client. Another client states, “The litigation teams on the generic side of the industry are very talented and to have a group as good as the one Gowlings can provide gives companies like us a great chance to fight back against our competition.” Financial & Transactional: “Because clients trust ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????t???????????????????????Q??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????I??????????????????????????????1????Q????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????1???????????????????????????????????????????A?????A??????????????????????????????????????q???????????????????????????????????????????%@????????????????????????????t???????????1????Q????????????????????()15 ?1%?M
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