This session provides an in-depth analysis of recent high-profile biologics and biosimilar patent disputes across Europe, the USA, and Asia, including landmark cases involving Xtandi, Soliris, and antibody exclusivity challenges. Attendees will explore how evolving case law, patent claim constructions, and regulatory developments are shaping exclusivity periods, enforcement strategies, and market entry pathways. The session will also address comparative litigation trends, strategic patent considerations, and the complexities of navigating both branded vs branded and biosimilar patent conflicts globally.
• Examine key European rulings on Xtandi and Soliris patents, including patent validity challenges and injunction decisions.
• Analyse evolving antibody patent standards post-G2/21, Amgen vs Sanofi, and their impact on inventive step and exclusivity in the US and Europe.
• Explore strategic insights on BPCIA litigation timing, branded vs branded biologics disputes, and regulatory pathways for biosimilar market entry.
Frank Landolt
Frank Landolt is Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property and Legal at Confo Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical start-up based in Ghent, Belgium specializing in GPCR-targeted therapeutics.
After studying chemistry and law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, Frank worked for almost ten years on pharmaceutical and biotechological patents and licensing in private practice in the Netherlands, where his clients included major pharmaceutical companies as well as some of the top biotech firms and research institutions in the Netherlands.
Prior to joining Confo in 2018, Frank worked for fifteen years in Ablynx N.V. (now a wholly owned Sanofi company), where he was a member of the management team and headed an integrated IP and legal group of four lawyers and five patent professionals. At Ablynx, Frank was involved in negotiating Ablynx’s strategic partnerships and licensing deals with AbbVie, Boehringer-Ingelheim, MSD, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and Wyeth.
From 2000 to 2004, Frank was director of IP and legal counsel at Devgen N.V. (now part of Syngenta), another Ghent-based biotechnology company, where he was involved in negotiating Devgen’s strategic collaborations with Sumitomo, Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer.
Frank is a Dutch and European patent attorney, and also holds a degree in business law from the University of Antwerp. He is a member of the Dutch association of patent attorneys (where he is a tutor for the professional qualification course), EPI and LES Benelux (where he is involved in the LES Licensing Course). He is a regular speaker on a range of topics relating to IP and licensing in the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. Frank was named as one of Managing IP’s ‘Corporate IP stars’ for four years in a row (2015-2018).
Peter van Schijndel
Gemma Barrett
Gemma is an experienced and trusted advisor for some of the world’s leading life sciences and chemical companies. Her background in biochemistry means she specialises in complex technical disputes in the life sciences sector. She has more than fifteen years’ experience advising clients in patent litigation matters before the English Courts including securing preliminary injunctions. She is also experienced in advising on global cross-border litigation, and coordinating worldwide litigation, working closely with multi-disciplinary teams in the defence and enforcement of patent portfolios. She has developed innovative and successful strategies, often combining patent and regulatory law, to assist pharmaceutical companies in the enforcement of their rights.
Selma Ünlü
James Holtom
