Signage is seen outside the Arnold & Porter law firm in their legal offices in Washington, DC, U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) – Arnold & Porter said on Monday it has hired two partners in Amsterdam for a new office in the city that will focus on life sciences and healthcare.

Chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Richard Alexander cited increased client demand as well as the move of EU medical regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), from London in Amsterdam following Brexit as reasons to launch a life science practice in the Dutch capital.

Carla Schoonderbeek and Bart Jong join Arnold & Porter from Dutch IP-focused company Hoyng Rokh Monegier. Schoonderbeek, who was previously a partner at Hogan Lovells, will lead the new Amsterdam office.

Lawyers at the new outpost will advise clients on cases before the EMA and the European Commission, and will also help coordinate regulatory responses and cross-border filings across the EU, according to the Arnold & Porter website. .

Arnold & Porter’s life sciences and healthcare regulatory practice co-chairman Dan Kracov said the company has expanded the group into Europe beyond the UK and Brussels due to the growing EU regulation and COVID-19.

Amsterdam is becoming a hot spot for businesses looking to relocate after Brexit. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency said that 78 “Brexit” companies moved their base from the UK to the Netherlands in 2020. Life sciences and healthcare are one of the main sectors where this movement was the most frequent, according to the agency.

Schoonderbeek specializes in medicines regulation, advising clients on EU market access and authorisations, regulatory data protection and enforcement actions before national and EU regulators, according to her online biography of Hoyng Rokh Monegier.

Jong was a former district court judge in Amsterdam and specializes in pharmaceutical regulatory issues, Arnold and & Porter said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Hoyng Rokh Monegier did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the moves.

Read more:

Brexit gets real for drugmakers as regulator moves to Amsterdam

More ‘Brexit’ companies are moving to the Netherlands as uncertainty lingers

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