Anna Wolters-Höhne moves from Bird & Bird to Allen & Overy
Anna Wolters-Höhne (pictured), previously associated with Bird & Bird, is making a return to patent litigation after a hiatus of two years. She has taken on the role of partner at Allen & Overy, adding a presence to the German patent practice in Hamburg, which hosts a significant local division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
Anna Wolters-Höhne is now part of Allen & Overy after spending almost 17 years at Bird & Bird, where her focus was on life sciences disputes in Düsseldorf and Hamburg. In May 2021, she left the international law firm to dedicate her time to providing expert opinions on patents and, most importantly, to her family. The 48-year-old lawyer is now re-entering the patent litigation sector. Starting from December 1, Wolters-Höhne will serve as a partner in the Hamburg office of Allen & Overy. Initially, she will be the sole patent litigator, and the firm plans to assemble a team of associates in the office in the coming months.
During this period, the lawyer will collaborate closely with the Düsseldorf-based team led by Stefan Neuhaus. The team, boasting clients like Bayer, Eli Lilly, Hoffmann-La Roche, MSD, NovoNordisk, and Pfizer, also maintains a focus on the life sciences sector.
Wolters-Höhne was one of the most prominent patent litigators in Bird & Bird’s German team. She collaborated closely with Oliver Jüngst. She represented Takeda, among others. She also engaged in a legal battle for Gilead against ViiV Healthcare over the HIV blockbuster drug Biktarvy and advocated for well-known generics manufacturers like Teva. She represented Fresenius in the dispute concerning Eli Lilly’s cancer drug pemetrexed. Additionally, in the medical device sector, Wolters-Höhne gained experience alongside Edwards Lifesciences in its dispute with Meril.