This comprehensive course is designed to equip professionals in the pharmaceutical sector with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the complexities of competition law. It will cover the full spectrum of competition law from cooperation with competitors, to abusive life-cycle management, disparagement and the use of IP, to trends in public and private enforcement.
The expert speakers focus on the fundamental principles and key elements of competition law in the EU and UK that apply to the pharmaceutical industry. This is an interactive session that uses case studies and real-world examples from industry to address how compliance works in practice.
By addressing critical legal and operational challenges, participants will gain a clear and pragmatic understanding of how competition law impacts the pharmaceutical supply chain and how this translates to making commercial decisions in their day-to-day activities.
Niels Christian Ersbøll is a partner in the EU Antitrust practice, chair of the European Competition practice, and head of the Brussels office. He mainly advises clients on EU competition law in relation to merger control, cartels and restrictive practices, and abuse of dominance, where he has more two decades’ experience. Niels also has significant expertise in advising clients on EU sanctions and export control matters.
He has assisted clients in obtaining merger control clearance on a number of significant transactions before the European Commission and coordinating submissions to competition authorities worldwide for clients such as Pfizer, Boston Scientific and AT&T. He has significant experience assessing filing requirements, devising strategy, dealing with review and designing and negotiating remedies.
In relation to cartels, Niels has successfully acted for companies seeking leniency (immunity as well as fine reductions) before the European Commission, he has appeared before the EU General Court on appeal of European Commission decisions, and is advising on follow-on damage claims. Recently, Niels also has represented individual directors in cartel proceedings, and acted for a whistle blower. He also has significant experience helping clients with designing and implementing compliance measures and conducting internal investigations and audits.
Outside investigations related work, Niels regularly advises clients in relation to, for example, distribution and pricing arrangements, parallel trade, and various forms of cooperation agreements and strategic alliances between competitors. He acts for clients in many industries, and has particular experience within the life sciences, media and the transport & logistics sectors.
As a reflection of his deep understanding of the industry, since the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic, Niels has also been working extensively with the vaccine industry to advise on a multitude of aspects of vaccine and antiviral procurement by governments and international organisations including the EU, the African Union, COVAX and CARICOM.
Moreover, Niels also regularly advises clients on EU sanctions questions, notably in rapidly changing regulatory environments, especially regarding EU sanctions on Russia. He helps companies establish EU sanctions compliance plans and commercial strategies as well as obtaining authorisations from competent Member States authorities.
Zeno Frediani advises clients on UK and EU competition law in relation to merger control, cartels and restrictive practices, abuse of dominance, and private damages claims. He also advises clients on the UK’s investment screening powers for national security matters. He has extensive experience in providing commercial solutions to complex regulatory issues. Zeno advises world-leading organisations, particularly within the FMCG and pharmaceutical sectors. He has also assisted clients in CMA and European Commission investigations.
In relation to antitrust litigation, Zeno has experience handling competition damages litigation in various jurisdictions, including England & Wales and The Netherlands.
He maintains an active pro bono practice and regularly advises charities and NGOs on a wide range of legal and strategic matters.
Lazarinka Naydenova, Senior Associate with Arnold Porter, focuses on all aspects of European (EU) competition law, with particular emphasis on merger control proceeding, abuse of dominance, cartel matters, and state aid.
Lazarinka joined the firm's Brussels team in 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Lazarinka worked in another leading international competition law firm in Brussels. She has worked as an in-house lawyer at the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance and has also undertaken a traineeship at the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition. Lazarinka worked the ex-U.S. processes for Monsanto in its US$66 billion acquisition by Bayer, a transaction that won the 2019 GCR Awards for "Global Antitrust Matter of the Year" and "Merger Control Matter of the Year - Europe" and for Fitbit in its acquisition by Google which won the 2021 edition of the same award. She also represented a client in a dawn raid conducted by the European Commission in relation to an alleged violation of the antitrust rules.
* Early booking discounts may not be combined with other discounts or offers. As such, the discounts for 2nd/3rd/4th delegates are based on the full price; and apply only when booking multiple delegates on the same date.
Cookies: we use cookies to deliver the best experience to you and to help us understand our customers.
We set the following types of cookies; please set your preference as to which you consent to accepting: Read our cookie policy
These cookies are essential to correct operation of the website, such as allowing you to log in and purchase. They are used only on this site.
We use Google Analytics to allow us to better understand the type of visitors to our site and their activity. Enabling this should not shape or alter your browsing experience on other websites.
Marketing cookies help us to be more targeted with our online advertising to deliver more relevant content. Enabling this may make you more likely to see adverts from us on other websites.