Pharma Collaborations in the Covid-19 Era Come With Legal Risks (1)

Major pharmaceutical and biotech companies will have to navigate a host of legal issues related to patents, trade secrets, and competition as they collaborate to find viable coronavirus vaccines and treatments.

The race to address the pandemic has brought together strange bedfellows as big-name companies partner with their rivals. Roche Holding AG and Gilead Sciences Inc. teamed up on trials for a drug combination to treat Covid-19, and GlaxoSmithKline plc struck a deal with Sanofi to produce 1 billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine booster.

Companies seeking to ensure their partnerships succeed will need to negotiate who owns each slice ...