Forty per cent of Mills & Reeve’s Life Science work now international

What are the major territories (in terms of countries) you have covered in significant pieces of work in the last 12 months?

The life sciences sector is global and many of our clients that are operating within the sector trade or are planning to trade internationally. Around 40 per cent of our work is international – we support both UK clients as they expand and undertake projects and transactions overseas, as well as overseas businesses (particularly those headquartered in North America and Asia) operating in the UK.

Examples of the sorts of international projects we are involved in include supporting pharmaceutical and medical device clients as they develop supply chains across multiple jurisdictions, funding transactions with overseas investors, advising overseas clients launching new products in the UK and Europe, supporting clinical trial projects across different jurisdictions, and advising on global licensing deals.

Much of our work has traditionally had a North American flavour, however the work we do in respect of other jurisdictions has increased over the years, and in the last 12 months, we have advised on matters relating to Nordic and DACH countries, France, Italy, Spain, India, China, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and Australia. We count a number of overseas companies as clients and many of those clients are high profile and have global reach.

What did that work involve the firm doing?

Our international work is varied and full service, utilising teams across most of our work areas.

Descriptions of the sorts of projects we advise on day-by-day are included above, however, of note, we have over the past 12 months advised Tessellate Bio on its $500 million licensing transaction with German large pharma Boehringer Ingelheim, Neurocrine Biosciences on the grant of distribution rights for the Nordics to Frost Pharma, Illumina on its multi-party proteomics collaboration with a number of international biopharma organisations and the management team of F-star on the acquisition of the business from invoX Pharma.

Did the work involve just your specialism or did you call on colleagues in other teams? If so, then which other teams?

Our work involves colleagues across many of our teams. Much of our international work is led out of our commercial, IP and corporate teams, however the nature of the work means that we are supporting clients through multi-disciplinary teams, with the core advisory team being supported by colleagues from a number of teams, including our regulatory, employment, tax, competition and disputes teams.

What were the biggest/most financially productive deals you worked on?

Deal values are often confidential . The Tessellate transaction mentioned above was particularly interesting and rewarding for us to work on. The technology is disruptive and is focused around the development of first-in-class, oral treatments for people living with hard-to-treat cancers. The transaction has an overall deal value in excess of $500m.

Our international work within the life sciences has been increasing year-on-year and currently accounts for around 40 per cent of the overall work that we do. We predict that this percentage will continue to increase proportionally as we attract more international clients and our UK clients progress their plans.

We see more international research collaborations (many of our Cambridge clients are executing exciting collaborations with universities and research institutes based overseas and looking at significant out-licensing) and more clients are seeking investment from overseas firms. CXOs in UK life sciences companies are looking at how they mitigate current geopolitical issues through making changes to their international supply chains and progressing opportunities in new overseas markets.

How complex is it when dealing with different territories?

Executing an international project is always going to be more challenging than one that is solely UK-related. Different laws and regulations apply, as well as different customs and business practice. Some jurisdictions are also more difficult to navigate, such as China. It is important to have the right advisory team in place, with the right experience and capability. We have spent many years developing an international network of legal experts who, where we do not have the capability ourselves, can be brought on-side to assist in seamlessly advising on local law issues.

We are currently advising on a number of large scale clinical trial projects, supporting the contracting of CROs and clinical sites across multiple jurisdictions, where knowledge of how regulations will be applied by local regulators is critical to delivery of what are time-critical projects.

What percentage of international work is bought to you in an average year and through what sources?

Our international work is increasing and we believe will continue to do so. Our work comes from a number of sources, including existing UK clients looking to trade or collaborate internationally, our ‘ecosystem’ network and referrals from law firms and other contacts based overseas.

To what extent are you required to operate alongside professionals in other sectors, eg accountants, funders, in doing cross-border transactions?

The ‘full-service’ nature of the work that we do in the international space means that we are often working alongside other professionals, such as accountants and patent attorneys, as well as overseas law firms within our international network (which we badge as ‘M&R Global’). We deliver best value to clients by being able to execute complex international projects and transactions, but also to bring in other like-minded professionals who can assist.

What checks and balances are in place internally to ensure your teams are up to scratch in digesting changing legislation/ attitudes or working practices in different countries?

We work regularly with law firms in our international networks to keep our teams and our clients appraised on new developments in key overseas jurisdictions. For example, we run regular roundtable dinners and other events in Cambridge and elsewhere to discuss global trends and ‘watch out’ issues, such as relatability to the US.

Are you seeing new territories becoming increasingly active in areas of work on which you are able to advise?

North America, and the US, in particular, will remain a key international market within life sciences. The US accounts for around 50 per cent of the global market within the sector, and many of the key industry players have bases there.

However, geopolitical trends, and regulatory change, mean that CXOs within UK life sciences businesses always need to keep alive to opportunities that present in new geographical markets, and be able to make the most of these opportunities.

The UK is likely to remain strong in life sciences innovation, and the country’s strength additionally in advanced technologies (such as AI and quantum technology) which are getting traction within the sector, means that UK businesses will likely remain attractive for collaboration, M & A and licensing with and investment from overseas players. It’s about making the most of the opportunity, strategically, and Cambridge has a key role to play in this!

Do geopolitical factors have a bearing on the way in which you are able to work across borders?

We want to be seen by our clients as an extension of their team, helping them to assess and then progress opportunities that may present to them internationally. We have the sector knowledge and access to an international network that we believe can effectively do this, and across a broad geographical footprint. We will continue to adapt what we do, as global trends continue to develop, sometimes at real pace, to support our client’s international aspirations.

Cambridge is a powerhouse when it comes to life sciences and is an international city with a strong reputation and established connections internationally. Over many years we have developed full-service teams to support exciting Cambridge and other UK-based life sciences organisations and that experience also complements the work we do for international clients.

• You can call James Fry on +44 1223 322 505 or email: James.Fry@Mills-Reeve.com