Charleen O’Keeffe

Partner
William Fry
charleen.okeeffe@williamfry.com
Ireland

Charleen is a skilled and experienced litigator, with extensive experience in complex, multi-jurisdictional patent and trade mark disputes. Her patent litigation experience ranges from medical devices to pharmaceuticals and biologics. In addition, Charleen has a particular interest in medical device product liability claims.

Charleen advises clients in the life sciences sector on every phase of a product’s life cycle from product development, clinical trials, data exclusivity, regulatory approval to commercialisation and product safety/recall/liability.

Recent significant cases include representing;

• Advising Eli Lilly in multi-jurisdictional patent/spc actions, including an action seeking revocation of a Novartis’ patent and in the defence of infringement proceedings (including a competition law counterclaim) with respect to Lilly’s Taltz®/ixekizumab product, and revocation proceedings against Eisai R&D Management Co regarding patents relating to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Advising a leading proprietor of innovative in-vitro diagnostic technology, on both contentious and non-contentious aspects of their patent licensing arrangements globally.
• AstraZeneca in its appeal to the Commercial Court relating to the Controller of Intellectual Property’s decision regarding the grant of a supplementary protection certificate.
• Genentech Inc in Commercial Court proceedings against Amgen relating to Amgen’s product Mvasi®, a biosimilar of Genentech’s leading cancer drug Avastin®.
• GSK in its trade mark and passing off action against Rowex Limited involving the Seretide Inhaler.
• Various global life sciences companies on regulatory matters including on data exclusivity issues, the medical devices regulatory regime, SPCs, marketing authorisations, the regulation of clinical trials, compassionate use programmes and parallel imports.

Charleen is ranked as a “Next Generation Partner” by the Legal 500 EMEA 2024 for Intellectual Property and Life Sciences, as “Up and Coming” by Chambers Europe 2024, as an IAM Patent 1000 Silver Individual and as a “Patent Star 2024” by Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars.

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