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SKW Schwarz

SKW Schwarz is an independent law firm with around 130 lawyers, four offices, and a common claim: We think outside the box. We advise in all relevant areas of business law. Including in an area that is particularly important for businesses: the future. We analyse, create clarity, and advise today in the essential legal fields of tomorrow. With offices at Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Munich, we are present at the major German business hubs.

Apart from information and communication technology, medicine and healthcare as well as biotechnology will probably be the most important growth areas in the future. A team of SKW Schwarz lawyers has therefore specialized in these fields. We advise pharmaceutical companies, producers of medical devices and biotechnology companies and their founders at all stages of the value chain. The most important issues are:

Digital Health: We provide guidance in navigating eHealth’s expanding legal landscape. Our service ensures clients adhere to digital health laws, focusing on electronic patient records, e-prescriptions, tele-diagnostics, AI-based medical software and devices, data security for wearables and medical apps, social media activities of pharmaceutical and medical device companies, use of health data in R&D, and regulatory aspects.
Compliance: We offer expert advice in managing healthcare compliance for collaborations among physicians, hospitals, and pharmaceutical / medical device companies. Our assistance extends to creating compliant sales and marketing strategies, reviewing healthcare advertising campaigns, enhancing healthcare compliance systems, and representation in authority investigations and compliance disputes.
Protection of intellectual property rights: We ensure the protection of patent and intellectual property rights for the products of our clients and advise them on how to best license their products.
Corporate: Our Life Sciences & Health team includes specialized corporate lawyers who act as trusted advisor to our clients in industry specific corporate transactions like venture capital or private equity, m&a transactions, spin-offs and joint ventures, as well as management participations or corporate governance.
Commercial Contracts and Distribution Law: We provide expert advice on drafting and concluding commercial contracts in the healthcare sector. Our services extend to clinical study contracts, licensing agreements, production and service outsourcing, authorized dealer agreements, commercial and cooperation agreements, as well as ensuring compliance, privacy and data protection/security in all aspects of research and development. We also check and draft distribution agreements and give advice on all legal matters which may arise in day-to-day distribution business.
Product Safety and Liability: As regulatory compliance becomes crucial, we guide you through product safety and liability issues. Our services include managing litigation, advice on product recalls, and offering product safety consulting, in particular concerning the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR) and applicable pharmaceutical laws.
Regulation: We provide legal assessment of your innovative health technologies, including digital health applications, with regard to all relevant regulatory aspects. Our expertise covers inter alia the legal requirements of medicinal products, medical apps, in-vitro diagnostics and medical device law, healthcare advertising laws, and procurement and antitrust considerations in healthcare.

We joined the Biolegis network in order to supplement our own expertise with international excellence. Biolegis brings together independent law firms from currently 14 European countries. It provides our clients access to about 120 life science lawyers and is probably the largest network of its kind in Europe.

Listings & recommendations

Who’s Who Legal 2021:

Dr. Matthias Nordmann, Markus von Fuchs and Dr. Tatjana Schroeder are named amongst the leading lawyers in transactional and regulatory work in the area of Life Sciences.

JUVE Commercial Law Firms 2022/2023

Corporate/M&A
Trademarks/Unfair Competition
Technology and Media: Information Technology
Technology and Media: Data Protection

Chambers Europe 2023 – Germany:

Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market
Intellectual Property: Trade Mark & Unfair Competition
TMT: Information Technology

The Legal 500 – Germany 2023:

Corporate and M&A > M&A: mid-sized deals (- €500m)
Intellectual Property: Trademarks
Intellectual Property: Unfair Competition
Information Technology: Data Protection
Information Technology: IT-Transactions and Outsourcing
Information Technology: Information Technology and Digitalisation

Legal 500 EMEA 2023:

Corporate and M&A > M&A: mid-sized deals (- €500m)
Intellectual Property: Trademarks
Intellectual Property: Unfair Competition
Information Technology: Data Protection
Information Technology: IT-Transactions and Outsourcing
Information Technology: Information Technology and Digitalisation

Track Record (examples)

SKW Schwarz’s track record (examples) in Healthcare & Life Sciences

Member firm: SKW Schwarz

Advising D.O.R.C. Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center (International) B.V. on the acquisition of the remaining 73% shares in WEFIS GmbH, Cologne.
Regular and comprehensive advice of Gilead Sciences GmbH in healthcare compliance and healthcare advertising matters, including the legal review of advertising campaigns (for own and competitor products), internal compliance training, advice on social media activities, and support to keep the internal compliance system up-to-date with the most recent developments.
Representation of the pharmaceutical company Aristo Pharma in a dispute in connection with the new Trade Secrets Protection Act.
Comprehensive advice to Prestige Brands International, Inc. in connection with the marketing as well as the sale and distribution of health and household cleaning products together with the related issues concerning European and German trademark law as well as the expansion of the individual trademarks in the European and international economic area.
Representation of the listed Swedish medical device manufacturer Sedana Medical AB in a strategically highly significant HWG (Drug Advertising Act) lawsuit , as well as comprehensive advice and support during the market launch of the products “Sedaconda” and “Sedaconda ACD” in Germany, including regulatory issues and advice on healthcare compliance (HCC).
Patent law advice to the innovative company Vyld GmbH for the production of feminine hygiene products from seaweed in the hygiene and health product sector.
Representation of the world’s largest cannabis producer, Canopy Growth Corporation and its subsidiaries (Tweed Inc., Spectrum Cannabis Canada, Ltd., TS BRANDCO Inc., DOJA Inc., Bionorica Ethics GmbH) on trademark issues in Germany. This includes handling a significant volume of trademark applications before the DPMA for goods and services related to “medical marijuana”. Due to the lack of registration practice, we advise clients strategically with regard to absolute grounds for refusal and with regard to possible conflicts with the Narcotics Act. Added Storz & Bickel GmbH, which is the market leader for vaporizers.
Broad competition law advice to the important supplier of CBD products, Sanity Group GmbH, concerning, among others, the fairness, medicinal product advertising and food supplement law requirements for the advertising of these innovative products.
Advising the major pharmaceutical company Brancaster Pharma Ltd. on licensing and distribution issues relating to an innovative drug for wound care.
Ongoing IT and data protection law advice to Edeloptics GmbH, in particular in the negotiation of contracts with various payment providers as well as advice in connection with the adaptation of the client’s online store and other marketing materials in the course of the so-called Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161 for better enforcement and modernization of consumer protection rules in the Union.
Continuous support of various German companies and contracts of the Eurofins Group of laboratories as well as conclusion of a lawsuit before the Regional Court of Freiburg by settlement.
Comprehensive advice to glaucare GmbH for the development of ophthalmological apps with regard to European trademark law as well as support and advice to the company in the planned trademark development and the associated trademark applications in the European Economic Area. This includes, in particular, advice on trademark conflict law with regard to the question of whether and to what extent possible third-party trademark rights could conflict with certain new trademarks planned by the client.
Complete operational data protection advice to Asklepios Kliniken in the Rhine-Main region in close coordination with Group headquarters, including data privacy, employee data privacy, patient data privacy, and Corona protection measures.
Advising the non-profit DRK society, which set up vaccination centres at numerous locations in Berlin providing extensive medical (in cooperation with the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, etc.) and other services. SKW Schwarz led the contract negotiations, drafted and coordinated the contracts.

Listings & recommendations

Who’s Who Legal 2019:
Dr. Matthias Nordmann, Markus von Fuchs and Dr. Tatjana Schroeder are named amongst the leading lawyers in transactional work in the area of Life Sciences.
JUVE Commercial Law Firms 2018/2019:
• Corporate/M&A (Tier 5/5)
• Trademarks/Unfair Competition (Tier 3/5)
• Technology and Media: Information Technology (Tier 3/5)
• Technology and Media: Data Protection (Tier 5/5)
Chambers Europe 2018 – Germany:
• Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market (Tier 4/5)
• Intellectual Property: Trade Mark & Unfair Competition (Other noted firms)
• TMT: Information Technology (Tier 3/4)
The Legal 500 – Germany 2018:
• IT and Outsourcing: Data Protection (Tier 3/3)
• IT and Outsourcing: Information Technology (including Contracts) (Tier 2/5)
Legal 500 EMEA 2018:
• Corporate/M&A: Mid-sized Domestic Deals (€ 100m – € 500m) (Tier 3/3)
• Intellectual Property: Trademarks and Unfair Competition (Tier 4/6)

SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte, Wittelsbacherplatz 1, 80333, München, Deutschland

tel: +49 (0)89 286 40-0
fax: +49 (0)89 280 94-32
web: http://www.skwschwarz.de
Biolegis contact:
Dr. Matthias Nordmann M.A.
e-mail:
muenchen@skwschwarz.de