Renowned Life Sciences legal team joins Rymarz Zdort Maruta
The law firm of Rymarz Zdort Maruta, in line with its strategy, is continuing its dynamic growth by expanding the scope of support it provides to also cover the Life Sciences sector. Over the coming months, our new Life Sciences team will be joined by a dozen experienced advisors who have for years worked with clients in the Life Sciences sector. This initiative is a response to the ever-changing and developing healthcare sector in Poland and Europe, as well as the growing needs of clients in this area. At the beginning of November, four new Partners already started working at Rymarz Zdort Maruta: Michał Czarnuch, Dr Anna Partyka-Opiela, Marcin Pieklak and Tomasz Kaczyński.
“The successive expansion of our client base and the extension of our law firm’s competencies to include further significant and market-leading practices is a key element of our market strategy, which we have consistently pursued since becoming an independent law firm. The establishment of our Life Sciences practice and the addition of such renowned lawyers to our team is a response to our clients’ needs. I am confident that by combining their knowledge and experience with the strength of our existing practices, we will be able to offer clients comprehensive and multidisciplinary legal advice at the highest level in a way not previously seen on the market“- says Paweł Zdort, managing partner at Rymarz Zdort Maruta.
Michał Czarnuch will head the new practice, with Dr Anna Partyka-Opiela, Marcin Pieklak and Tomasz Kaczyński as co-heads.
Michał is one of the best lawyers in Poland servicing clients in the broadly defined healthcare sector. He specialises in administrative law, with a focus on pharmaceutical law, medical device regulation medical advertising law, EU law and competition law, as well as compliance in cases involving allegations of corruption. He is involved in advising entities from the pharmaceutical and FMCG sectors (including alcohol and tobacco producers) on advertising and promotional activities, reimbursement, distribution, labelling, and manufacturing and quality control. Michał advises on the development of medicinal product distribution and trade systems in connection with issues related to healthcare, including healthcare financing, the establishment and restructuring of healthcare entities, telemedicine and health insurance. He has participated in numerous legislative processes, including the development of healthcare laws, as well as the drafting of opinions and reports on the functioning of these laws. He is one of the initiators of the Telemedicine Working Group and a board member of the Telemedicine Working Group Foundation. He advises on projects related to outsourcing and access to medical data in cooperation with the Healthcare Information Systems Centre and the Ministry of Health. He is also a member of the Interoperability Council at the Healthcare Information Systems Centre. Previously, he headed the Life Sciences practice at DZP.
Leading the Compliance team within the Life Sciences practice, has over 15 years of experience in advising on compliance, whistleblowing, ethics, corruption prevention, AML and legal communication (Legal Design). Anna provides ongoing consultancy services in the field of corruption prevention and compliance, with a particular focus on issues related to process transparency, communication, and the redesign and optimisation of compliance systems. She has also supervised numerous projects involving the implementation of comprehensive compliance systems, including in relation to ISO standards, whistleblowing, AML, sanctions regulations and the proper functioning of supply chains. She also has many years of experience in the areas of compliance and investigative audits, as well as fraud and abuse risk management. She also leads projects related to the simplification of Legal Design and governance consulting in ESG projects. She is a member of the Compliance Committee of the WSE and a member of the Council of Innovators of the Polish ESG Association. Previously, she headed the Compliance team at DZP.
Co-head of the Life Sciences practice, is a lawyer with many years of experience in the healthcare sector, pharmaceutical law, food law and contract law. He specialises, among others, in reimbursement proceedings, the financing of guaranteed services and tenders. He gained his experience by representing clients before health authorities, including the Minister of Health, the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector, the Chief Health Inspector and the Chairman of the National Health Fund. He has advised on numerous reimbursement proceedings that resulted in the financing of new, innovative medicines, foodstuffs and medical devices. His extensive knowledge of the legal system and market conditions allows him to support clients from the very first stages of a process, i.e. in early access or emergency treatment programmes. He has experience working on the side of the public payor, on behalf of which he has conducted reimbursement proceedings, appeared before administrative courts and co-developed a reimbursement policy. He is the author of the most comprehensive study on the reimbursement market. He also provides ongoing advice to companies in the Life Sciences sector, including pharmaceutical and food companies. His previous work in regulatory bodies has allowed him to provide extensive support not only in the marketing of products, but also in their advertising and promotion. His experience in the field of contracts based on general contract law has enabled him to provide services to multinational corporations in respect of cross-border matters.
Co-head of the Life Sciences practice, has nearly 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical law, ranging from issues related to product registration, reimbursement, manufacturing and distribution, to advertising law and clinical trial regulation. He advises businesses operating in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, medical device and food markets, including manufacturers, wholesale distributors and pharmacy chains. He provides regulatory support for mergers and acquisitions and advises on the development of distribution structures for regulated markets. His areas of expertise also include franchising, food law (in particular the regulation of FSMPs and dietary supplements), consumer protection law and combating unfair competition. Additionally, he advises on the regulation of the livestock feed market and genetically modified food, and participates in control proceedings in the agri-food market. He has worked on public health issues in territorial administrative bodies, where he was responsible, inter alia, for the restructuring of public healthcare institutions in Mazowieckie Voivodeship. He is the chief expert on pharmaceutical law of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers. He was a co-managing partner of the Life Sciences practice at DZP.
fot. Bartosz Maciejewski
“I am delighted that the law firm Rymarz Zdort Maruta has recognised the very dynamic development of the Life Sciences industry and has decided to entrust us with the mission of establishing this practice within the firm. I am convinced that our strong position and the reputation we have enjoyed in the market for many years will enable us to provide effective advice to both existing and new clients of the law firm. I very much look forward to the synergies we will be able to achieve with the firm’s other practices, such as TMT and M&A, and supporting existing and future clients. It is a combination of the best pharma experience with transactional and technology experience” – comments Michał Czarnuch, partner in charge of the Life Sciences practice.
The new Life Sciences team will provide advice on pharmaceutical law, biotechnology, food law, healthcare, MedTech and veterinary medicine. The team will support Polish and foreign entities in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, food, and chemical industries, as well as to alcohol and tobacco businesses.
“The addition of Life Sciences specialists to our team is the third development this year that significantly expands the scale and scope of our company’s services – following the merger with the Maruta Wachta’ team and the addition of Agnieszka Skorupinska’s environmental and ESG team. A question can therefore be raised as to how many more steps we are planning for 2024. Unfortunately, it is not possible to answer this question at the moment. However, there is certainly room in Poland for a top-quality law firm of a size larger than our current one. What we will certainly not abandon is ensuring that we remain leaders in every area in which we practise. The new Life Sciences team, with such comprehensive and detailed knowledge and many years of experience, is certainly in line with this policy” – adds Paweł Rymarz, managing partner at Rymarz Zdort Maruta.
