BAT hires new senior counsel for patent litigation from Sandoz

Sara Burghart (45) began her career in 2006 at McDermott Will & Emery, where she initially worked in IT contract drafting. She first gained experience in patent disputes in an infringement case between McDermott client Document Security Systems (DSSI) and the European Central Bank. The case concerned patents for security features on euro banknotes.

In 2010, Burghart moved to Taylor Wessing’s renowned patent practice, where she was involved in various patent disputes as part of patent litigator Gisbert Hohagen’s team. For example, the team represented Metatron against VW in a case concerning gas injection systems in internal combustion engines. The team also represented Winwall against MB Digitalprint in a dispute over aluminium composite sheets. Burghart became a partner at the firm in 2016.

Experience from both sides

In 2019, Sara Burghart joined Sandoz’s legal department as Lead IP Litigation Counsel, where she was again active in numerous patent disputes alongside law firms. For example, she again worked with former colleagues from Taylor Wessing in the dispute against Eli Lilly over pemetrexed, and together with Bristows in the UK and Vondst in the Netherlands in the proceedings against Bristol-Myers Squibb over apixaban.

At BAT Burghart is now Senior Counsel for Patent Litigation, responsible for developing and implementing global patent litigation strategies. She will also manage and coordinate all global patent litigation involving the BAT Group. The US tobacco company has litigated very actively against Philip Morris over heat-not-burn patents. The companies are fighting in various countries, including the UK, the US and Germany, as well as before the EPO.

Sandoz in flux

Meanwhile, Sandoz is in the process of spinning off from Novartis. The subsidiary, which runs the business of biosimilars and off-patent drugs, will become entirely independent, creating one of Europe’s largest generics companies. The spin-off is expected to be completed by the second half of 2023.

Thus, the IP department of the generics manufacturer is also undergoing major change. At the beginning of the year, Sandoz appointed a new head of IP litigation.