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Marion Abecassis

Senior Associate
Paris
About

Marion Abecassis concentrates her practice on life sciences, with a particular focus on strategic regulatory advice, industry-specific contracts and M&A operations. She is a member of the Paris and the New York Bars.

Marion assists key stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem (including pharmaceutical, medical device, healthtech, foodtech and cosmetics companies, as well as medical laboratories, veterinary clinics, insurances, investment funds) in negotiating sector-specific agreements (R&D; licensing; collaboration; clinical trials; manufacturing; distribution etc…) and in providing strategic advice on a broad range of European and French regulatory issues (relations with regulated professions, market access, advertising, etc…) as well as on industry-specific ethical rules. In parallel, Marion is reknowned for her publications and participations during conferences at the intersection between innovative medical products, law and bioethics.

Areas of FocusLife SciencesCorporate
Professional QualificationsAttorney-at-law admitted with the Supreme Court of New YorkAvocate admitted to the Paris Bar

EXPERIENCE

  • Advising a major cosmetics industry based in France in the acquisition of a line of products from a company based in Denmark.
  • Advising multiple pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical companies in drafting and negotiating their collaboration and licensing agreements to apply new proprietary technologies to the development of innovative products.
  • Advising investment funds in auditing strategic contracts entered into by target companies in the life sciences sector (licenses, collaborations, distribution, manufacturing, etc.)
  • Assisting an NGO in negotiating agreements and assessing its liability exposure in connection with the provision and administration of Covid-19 vaccines in low and middle income countries.
  • Advising small and big-scale pharmaceutical companies on European and French regulatory issues (including in the field of telemedicine; on-line sale of medicinal products; genetic testing; commercialization of medical devices; …) in connection with M&A transactions or independently from a transaction.
  • Advising a promising biotech company with regard to regulatory frameworks likely applicable to a borderline software and assisting in adjusting its business model in the light of regulatory constraints/opportunities.
Languages
  • French
  • English
Education
  • Georgetown University, LL.M in Global Health Law
  • Université Paris-Descartes, Master 2 Activités de santé et responsabilités
  • Université Panthéon Assas / University College London, Master 1 Comparative law

Awards

  • Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” – Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice, Corporate Law and Health Care Law – 2024-2025
  • “Regulatory Rising Star” - LMG Life Sciences Awards 2023 EMEA
  • Marion is ranked “Excellent” for “Healthcare, pharmaceuticals & biotech / Regulatory” and “Highly Recommended” for “Healthcare, pharmaceuticals & biotech / Capital, joint venture, and corporate transactions” in France in the 2022 and 2021 Décideurs Legal League ranking.
  • Fulbright Grantee 2014
  • Lauréate de la Fondation Monahan 2014
  • Lauréate de la Fondation Georges Lurcy 2014

Publications

  • Managing expectations, rights, and duties in large-scale genomics initiatives: a European comparison, European Journal of Human Genetics (6 December 2022)
  • Assisted Reproductive Technologies: impact on current law and future prospects, Cycle de conferences du Master Comparative Health Law (Mars 2022)
  • Organoids: science fiction or the future of pre-clinical studies? DLA Cortex Blog (October 2022)
  • ntelligence Artificielle et Sciences de la vie : des espoirs thérapeutiques aux défis éthiques et juridiques, Guide du Numérique de DLA Piper (July 2022)
  • Raw material shortage and its impact on the pharma industry, DLA Cortex Blog (24 May 2022)
  • Nouveau chapitre dans la saga judiciaire relative au CBD, La Lettre des juristes d’affaires (31 January 2022)
  • Vaccin contre le Covid-19 : « L’éthique exige que soit garanti l’accès pour tous aux données scientifiques », Tribune co-signée dans le Monde (15 December 2020)
  • Quoted in the newspaper article “Bébés OGM : les comités d’éthique français, allemand et britannique presque à l’unisson”, Florence Rosier, Le Monde (1 March 2020)
  • Fostering responsible research with genome editing technologies: a European perspective, Springer International Publishing, Transgenic Res (2017) 26: 709 (July 2017)
  • Artificial Wombs: "the Third Era of Human Reproduction" and the Likely Impact on French and U.S. Law, Hastings Women's Law Journal (January 2016)

Seminars

  • Marion is a regular speaker at international conferences and university courses in the field of bioethics and healthcare law. Her past presentations include:
    • “CRISPR et médecine translationnelle : sujets éthiques et juridiques”, CRISPR and Translational Medicine Congress of Bordeaux University, April 2022 (Bordeaux, France)
    • « Quelle place pour l’éthique dans l’innovation en santé ? », Grande Conférence Medintechs, March 2022 (Paris, France)
    • “Assisted Reproductive Technologies: impact on current law and future prospects”, Cycle de conferences du Master Comparative Health Law, March 2022 (Paris, France)
    • “A qui appartiennent les données génétiques ? ”, Congrès annuel de la Société Française de Médecine Personnalisée et Prédictive, 30 September 2021 (Paris, France)
    • “Use of Genome Editing in Humans: Legal Challenges”, Young Researchers in Biology of AURA Region Congress, 21 June 2021 (virtual meeting)
    • “L’épopée des vaccins anti-covid”, Conférence Interprofessionnelle de Sub’ Biotech Ecole de Biotechnologies, 30 March 2021 (virtual meeting)
    • “Legal and Ethical Challenges of Genome Editing”, Lecture at Sciences Po, April 2020 (virtual lecture)
    • “ IA dans les deals life sciences”, Intervention in the Master 2 droit des affaires appliqué au monde de la santé, Faculté de droit de l’Université de Saint-Etienne, 25 February 2020 (Saint-Etienne, France)
    • “Les enjeux de l’édition génomique entre craintes et espoirs », Entretiens Nîmes-Alès à l’Ecole de l’ADN, 8 February 2020 (Nîmes, France)
    • “Genome Editing: a Global Legal Perspective”, Transgenic Technology Meeting TT2019, 7 April 2019 (Kobe, Japan)
    • "Ethical Challenges in Gene Banking and Gene Editing", PHREB 2nd Biennial Conference, 27 November 2018 (Manilla, Philippines)
    • Moderation of panels at annual ARRIGE Meetings, November 2018 – 2020 (Paris, France)
  • Marion has co-founded a think tank gathering international stakeholders focusing on the ethical use of genome editing (ARRIGE - Association for Responsible Research and Innovation in Genome Editing).

Prior Experience

  • Previously, Marion worked in the Life Sciences department of a leading international law firm in Paris.
  • Marion is a permanent guest of the INSERM Ethics Committee since 2015, a member of the scientific committee of "AI for Health" (https://www.aiforhealth.fr/) and is involved in research activities in the field of bioethics and healthcare law, with a particular focus on innovative medical products and gene editing technology.

Memberships And Affiliations

  • A permanent guest of INSERM Ethics Committee (https://www.inserm.fr/ethique/comite-dethique-de-linserm/) 
  • A member of the scientific committee of "AI for Health" (https://www.aiforhealth.fr/)
  • A member of the Medintechs core community (https://www.medintechs.com/)
  • A founding member of the international think tank ARRIGE (https://www.arrige.org/)
     

My latest insights

Video

Episode 8 - Clinical trial agreements

8 February 2024 .1 minute read

News

DLA Piper advises Pierre Fabre Laboratories on acquisition of Switzerland-based Vertical...

4 October 2023 .2 minute read

Publication

Digital Guide: industry-specific analyses of artifical intelligence

27 January 2023 .1 minute read

Connect

Phone

+33 (0) 1 70 75 77 70
(Work, Paris)
+33 (0) 6 98 45 58 41
(Work)
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