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> Experience > Sectors and focus areas > Life sciences and healthcare

Life sciences and healthcare lawyers

Your trusted global life sciences advisors.


From corporate strategy and financing to protecting your innovations, we have the reach and sector experience to work with start-up ventures to multinational corporations across their life cycle.

Our experienced team of life sciences lawyers, spanning the UK, Europe, the US and Asia, advise a variety of clients, from leading academic institutions, established pharmaceutical and medical device companies, start-ups and tech accelerators to renowned charities.

We’ve helped companies, specifically at inception or the early stages, bring innovative drugs, therapies and devices to market. Our team includes life sciences and healthcare lawyers with scientific backgrounds, regulatory and diverse industry experience, which gives us a unique perspective of the opportunities and issues faced by our clients in the life sciences sector.


As a life sciences law firm, we comprise trusted advisors, often working as general counsel and thereby extending the capabilities of their teams, as well as providing intellectual property and regulatory strategy and other legal services. This includes effective business structuring and capital raising advice, managing intellectual property and commercial arrangements, employment and tax.

Our dedicated life sciences team has extensive experience advising entrepreneurs, investors, and technology companies, operating in a range of sectors, including biotech, med-tech, food tech and health-tech (including digital health).

From inception to exit, we are familiar with the life cycle of life sciences companies and the demands of scaling your business – from structuring and fundraising for early-stage companies to M&A and IPO for later-stage companies.

Our life sciences solicitors provide advice on a range of strategic regulatory matters, including:

  • Preclinical, clinical trials and post-approval pharmacovigilance across multiple jurisdictions
  • Interaction with regulatory authorities in the US and Europe
  • Advertising and promotional activities
  • Product recall and liability
  • Industry codes of conduct and compliance
  • Regulatory compliance regarding advertising and promotional activities
  • Petitions regarding matters before regulatory authorities

We understand the importance of protecting, enforcing and monetizing your IP. We can help with:

  • IP strategy
  • Protecting IP developed by your employees, consultants and other third-party service providers
  • IP portfolio management and brand strategies to maximize the value of your IP across jurisdictions
  • Dispute resolution of IP infringement
  • Execution in IP prosecution in worldwide portfolios
  • Protection of biotech pharmaceutical and medical device technologies

Our team includes practitioners with advanced degrees in molecular biology and medicinal chemistry who can bring their expertise to bear on these matters.

IP and data protection

Our life sciences lawyers understand how critical it is for your business to have a strong development pipeline and commercialize your intellectual property. We help you:

  • Put in place valuable R&D, option and pipeline agreements to develop IP
  • Negotiate in-licensing and out-licensing agreements for early or late-stage products
  • Effectively bring your products to market through various outsourcing agreements for product manufacture, supply and distribution

For organizations whose business is simply growing beyond their existing legal capacity, or which do not yet have the budget for full-time in-house lawyers, we offer general counsel support provided by life sciences and healthcare lawyers, whether at project-specific fees and/or on a fixed monthly budget to meet your needs.

Our renowned charities team advises some of the leading charities in healthcare and research. Our healthcare lawyers can be consulted on governance and structuring issues where research is funded through charitable grants, social and financial investments. The team also advises organizations receiving charitable funding or investment.

Our team of life sciences lawyers has a successful record of transferring technology and launching spin-out companies from notable universities, research institutions and tech accelerators. Our experience includes advising on investment and shareholder rights, and drafting and negotiating licensing documents and technology transfer agreements, including technology access through pipeline agreements, options and rights of first refusal.

Withers Tech at LSX 2024

We are delighted to sponsor LSX World Congress in London this year, which brings together leaders and innovators in biopharma, medtech and healthtech.  

Find out more and register below.
  LSX World Congress

The Global Rethinkers

The most powerful forces for change come from rethinking. Without challenging the status quo we can't hope for change in business, in our communities or society at large. We're getting behind some of the founders and innovators who are changing our world. Check out our hub to find out more.
  Life sciences innovation

Track record

Key contacts

Christopher Cowles, Ph.D.

Christopher Cowles, Ph.D.

Partner | Boston

Christopher Cowles, Ph.D.

Partner | Boston

IP, commercial and technology

Gina Bibby

Gina Bibby

Partner | Los Angeles

Gina Bibby

Partner | Los Angeles

IP, commercial and technology

James Shaw

James Shaw

Partner | London

James Shaw

Partner | London

Corporate

John Serio

John Serio

Partner | Boston

John Serio

Partner | Boston

IP, commercial and technology

Richard B. Emmons, Ph.D.

Richard B. Emmons, Ph.D.

Partner | Boston

Richard B. Emmons, Ph.D.

Partner | Boston

IP, commercial and technology

Richard Penfold

Richard Penfold

Partner | London

Richard Penfold

Partner | London

IP, commercial and technology

Susanna Stanfield

Susanna Stanfield

Partner | Cambridge

Susanna Stanfield

Partner | Cambridge

Corporate

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Our website will give you a flavour of the advice we provide - if you would like to talk to us for more information, please contact our client services team who will be happy to assist.

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