Carpmaels & Ransford is pleased to announce that Chris Hoggett and Stephen Duffield have been appointed to the partnership. The promotions, which take effect from 1st July, will bring the total number of partners in the firm to 25.

Both Chris and Stephen joined the firm as trainees and have gone on to develop impressive practices in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

Chris specialises in pharmaceuticals and works with blue-chip companies on cases relating to new chemical entities, formulations, polymorphs and dosage regimens. He has successfully defended a number of commercially important patents on blockbuster drugs and regularly acts as lead counsel in multiparty EPO proceedings, for instance on patents protecting Gilead’s Biktarvy® and Novartis’ Tasigna® products.

Stephen specialises in biological therapies, frequently acting on contentious matters involving complex immunological aspects. Stephen is experienced in attacking and defending patents in EPO opposition proceedings and on appeal, co-ordinating pan-European litigation, as well as pressure testing patents before their assertion in litigation.  Representative products Stephen has worked on include Janssen Biotech’s Stelara® and Simponi®, and Regeneron’s Dupixent®.

Richard Jackson, Managing Partner, comments: “We are very pleased to welcome Chris and Stephen into the partnership and congratulate them both for their hard work and dedication. These new appointments will further strengthen our life sciences capability and demonstrate our commitment to supporting and promoting talent in the firm.”

Carpmaels & Ransford has the largest specialist life sciences IP group on one site in Europe and was recently recognised as a leading firm in Who’s Who Legal 2019 and the IAM Patent 1000 directory.