UAE Trends and Developments
Trends and Developments Contributed by: Winsome Cheung and Haykel Hajjaji Covington & Burling LLP
Covington & Burling LLP offers one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive life sciences-fo- cused practices. Its clients – spanning every sec- tor and ranging from emerging biotech ventures to global pharmaceutical companies and major trade associations – trust the firm with their most complex business challenges. The firm has clients across the entire product life cycle, going well beyond tradition- al legal services to enable efficient R&D, successful launch and commercialisation, and long-term value maximisation. Covington supports numerous leading life sciences companies on strategic transactions,
M&A, financings, and emerging issues including digi- tal health, post‑Brexit regulatory divergence, privacy, innovation incentives, reimbursement, and evolving medical device and diagnostic regulations. It also guides clients through rapidly shifting political and policy landscapes, including drug‑pricing initiatives and implications for compliance, trade, antitrust, and litigation. The team includes more than a hundred dedicated life sciences lawyers, many of whom pre- viously held senior positions at regulatory agencies, major manufacturers, or industry associations.
Authors
Winsome Cheung is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP who
Haykel Hajjaji is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP who advises global corporations, sovereign investors, and financial institutions on complex cross-border transactions, regulatory strategy, and market entry
represents global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on strategic partnering and collaboration arrangements. A former scientist with a PhD in medicine, she draws on deep scientific and industry insight to advise clients across the life sciences value chain. She leads major cross‑border licensing and collaboration transactions, including high‑value alliances, option agreements, and asset acquisitions. Winsome also advises on ecosystem‑wide initiatives, including serving as a chief legal adviser to a global antiviral consortium, and long‑term strategic partnerships in genomics. She regularly counsels investors and biotechnology companies on IP licensing, manufacturing, and commercial agreements.
across the Middle East. His practice spans corporate, M&A, and commercial advisory matters, with a focus on strategic expansion into the Gulf. Haykel has deep expertise at the intersection of innovation, regulation, and geopolitics, particularly across AI, data centres, life sciences, defence, supply chain, and infrastructure. With over two decades of experience, he counsels clients on market entry, transaction structuring, foreign investment regimes, and legal risk in sensitive environments.
Covington & Burling LLP Office No. 703, Level 7 Gate Precinct Building 3 Dubai International Financial Centre P.O. Box: 507082 Dubai UAE Tel: +971 4 247 2100
Email: CFoster@cov.com Web: www.cov.com/en/
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