More about our team
SARAH FAIRCLIFFE
Trustee and Legal Director at Bird & Bird LLP
Sarah works as a Legal Director at Bird & Bird LLP, within the firm’s Life Sciences and Healthcare Group. With over twenty years of experience, she advises clients on EU and UK laws, guidance and codes of practice concerning the regulation of medicines, medical devices and related areas. She previously spent 10 years as a Legal Adviser at the European Medicines Agency, advising the EMA and its scientific committees on a wide range of legal issues, including providing the main legal support for the work of the Committee on Orphan Medicinal Products. She also worked closely with the European Commission on several cases litigated in the European Courts and on the drafting and implementation of various pieces of legislation.
Complex strategies and disputes concerning regulatory data protection and orphan exclusivity are a particular focus of Sarah’s work. Over the years, she has been involved in several of the cases shaping the interpretation of these concepts in the European Courts, and she is currently advising clients in a number of ongoing cases.
Sarah is a regular speaker at conferences and workshops and contributes to a number of publications.