JUVE Comment

The Hamburg-based patent attorney firm focuses primarily on patent litigation in pharma and biotech, conducting only limited filing work. Well established for representing generic drug companies in patent disputes, Hamm&Wittkopp regularly provides comprehensive representation for long-standing clients such as Stada, Aliud, and Mylan in classic disputes against originators.

A particular strength of Hamm&Wittkopp lies in its extensive experience and proven track record in EPO oppositions, where its patent attorneys frequently act as straw men representatives. A recent highlight saw the firm representing Stada against Sanofi concerning the cancer drug cabazitaxel, both at the EPO and then at the UPC.

In proceedings before national courts, the team led by Alexander Wittkopp and Malte von Seebach has recently been active in various high-profile court cases relating to blockbuster medicines such as Xarelto, Eylea, and Fampyra. In these proceedings, the patent attorneys work closely with external lawyers, for example from Pentarc.

A particularly well-established cooperation exists with the litigators at Bonabry. It is therefore only logical that they should formalise their successful collaboration by merging with the boutique next year. They will then act jointly under the brand Bonabry. This could also lead to the patent attorneys of Hamm&Wittkopp being more involved in UPC proceedings. Apart from the dispute over Copaxone, the team is not yet as active at the European court as similar competitors, not least due to its client base, as the UPC so far has not seen many disputes between pharma innovators and generics manufacturers. However, the patent attorneys have substantial experience in pharmaceutical litigation and frequently handle cases with a cross-border dimension.

Strengths

Litigation in opposition and infringement cases for generics manufacturers.

Recommended individuals

Alexander Wittkopp (patent attorney)

Team

6 patent attorneys

Clients

Litigation: Abdi against Grünenthal over pain medication; Accord against Astellas over Xtandi/enzalutamide; Dr. Reddy/Betapharm, Polpharma, and Abdi against Bayer over Xarelto/rivaroxaban; Formycon against Bayer over Eylea/aflibercept; Stada against Merz, Pharma/Accorda over Fampyra/fambridine; Stada and Alfred E. Tiefenbacher against Newron over salfinamide (partly settled 2025); Synthon against Millenium over Velcade/bortezomib. EPO oppositions: Alfred E. Tiefenbacher against Sandoz over Adenuric/febuxostat; Synthon against Teva over lenvatinib-mesylate/Lenvima.