THE Life Sciences team at law firm Wragge & Co has advised the Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology Trust on a collaborative agreement with the University of Oxford to build a new rheumatology research centre.
Partner and head of life sciences Pat Duxbury led a cross-firm team advising on the project, which involved Intellectual Property, construction, property, employment and tax issues.
The new research facility, on the Old Road campus, is currently at the planning stage and is scheduled for completion in 2013.
Mr Duxbury said: “The creation of a new research institute is unusual and highly complex. It demanded innovative thinking to provide protection for the KIR Trust.
“As a valued and trusted adviser to the KIR Trust during the last two years, our full-service life sciences sector expertise was important in ensuring a successful outcome.”
James Davis, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said: “Wragge & Co has provided excellent advice to the Trust across a number of specialist areas. Commercial awareness, as well as legal expertise, was required and Wragge & Co has provided both.”
Employment partner Jane Fielding and associate Hannah Swindle, IP solicitor Alice Stagg, construction associate Simon Colegate and real estate associate Chris Nyland also supported. The team worked closely with Oxford University’s in-house lawyers Bettina Talmon and Ben Hegedus, and its adviser, Simmons & Simmons. The Simmons & Simmons team was led by corporate partner Gavin Weir, assisted by corporate associate Hannah Morley.
The KIR Trust supports research into rheumatism and other inflammatory diseases. The new facility in Oxford will be close to other centres supporting biomedical research, and will position the institute as a world leader in its field.
Wragge & Co’s life sciences practice combines IP, corporate, antitrust, regulatory and dispute resolution lawyers, selected to deliver sector-focused advice.
This year Wragge & Co boosted the practice with the appointment of partner Paul Inman, who specialises in life sciences patent litigation. In November the firm also advised Cambrex Corporation on its cross-border acquisition of Indian-based pharmaceutical company Zenara for $20m. Other sector experience includes advising Astex Therepeutics Ltd on a £300m drug discovery alliance with healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline.
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