Thomas Bjorn

Expertise Thomas advises Experience Highlights Career History

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Expertise

Thomas advises on the protection and commercialisation of intellectual property in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, in food technology, and in the related technology industries. His transactional work covers licensing and technology transfer, research and development collaborations, co-development and joint ventures, clinical trials, manufacturing and supply, and distribution and agency. He also advises on IT contracts, data protection and public procurement.

Thomas originally qualified as an Advokat in Denmark and practised in Copenhagen before requalifying as a solicitor in England and Wales. He has since then worked in private legal practice in London and in senior in-house legal roles in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors in England, Switzerland and Austria.

From 2002 to 2023 Thomas held senior legal roles in the United Kingdom’s national public health bodies, latterly as General Counsel and Deputy Director of the UK Health Security Agency and, before that, at Public Health England, the Health Protection Agency and the Microbiological Research Authority. He led a legal function responsible for national and international commercial agreements, manufacturing and supply arrangements, services and research and development, overseeing portfolios of agreements generating approximately £150-200 million a year. During the pandemic he was appointed General Counsel for NHS Test and Trace, leading a team of up to 20 lawyers and advising on public procurement and research for nationally critical programmes.

Thomas also served two four-year terms as a Trustee of Fight for Sight, one of the UK’s leading ophthalmology research charities, and as Acting Chair of its Research Committee, contributing to the oversight of research strategy, funding and scientific priorities.

Thomas’ practice spans the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries and India. He has longstanding working relationships with Indian law firms and has advised Nordic and British companies entering the Indian market, working alongside Indian counsel. He works in English and Danish and has working knowledge of German, Swedish and Norwegian.

Thomas advises

  • General Counsel and in-house legal teams
  • Chief executives, founders and boards
  • Business development, licensing and alliance management teams
  • Scientific leadership, research directors and technology transfer teams
  • Clinical operations, regulatory affairs and data protection leads
  • Procurement and commercial teams in public bodies and their suppliers
  • Trustees and boards of research charities

In relevant subjects including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics, contract research and manufacturing, food technology, public health bodies, the NHS and government, universities and research institutes, and medical research charities.

Experience Highlights

  • Advised a US-based biopharmaceutical company and its contract research organisation on clinical trial agreements across multiple European jurisdictions for studies involving an investigational monoclonal antibody.
  • Advised European subsidiaries of US-based global life sciences and technology companies on their commercial contracts, including supply, distribution, services and reseller arrangements and on NHS pricing systems.
  • Drafted deposit and research licensing terms for major UK Government biological resource and stem cell repositories.
  • Drafted an agreement licensing an attenuated virus strain to a major international pharmaceutical company for vaccine manufacture.
  • Advised Public Health England on the legal aspects of food-borne outbreak investigations, including statutory powers, information sharing with local authorities and other agencies, data protection, and the handling of commercially sensitive information.
  • Advised on the establishment and commercialisation of government spin-out biotechnology companies.
  • Drafted and negotiated a material transfer and intellectual property licensing agreement with a US biopharmaceutical company for a collaboration concerning the development of a strategic recombinant vaccine for a US government programme.
  • Led the drafting and negotiation of a distribution agreement with a leading international pharmaceutical group for a specialist oncology biopharmaceutical product.
  • Drafted and negotiated a series of extension agreements relating to the licensing of proprietary neurotoxin materials and associated technology to a major international pharmaceutical company.
  • Negotiated the transfer of proprietary mobile roaming technology from a Danish developer to an Indian network operator.
  • As Head of Legal Affairs at Octapharma AG, led legal support for licensing, research and development, and manufacturing arrangements.

Career History

Previous roles

  • Consultancy assignments through Axiom Law
  • Senior Legal Counsel, Adaptimmune Ltd
  • General Counsel and Deputy Director, UK Health Security Agency
  • General Counsel, NHS Test and Trace
  • Deputy Director and Head of Commercial Legal Affairs, Public Health England
  • Consultant roles at Miller Rosenfalck LLP and RWK Goodman LLP
  • Head of Commercial Legal Affairs, Health Protection Agency
  • Sole Legal Counsel, Microbiological Research Authority
  • Head of Legal Affairs, Octapharma AG, Switzerland/Austria
  • Private legal practice, Copenhagen
  • External lecturer at the University of Copenhagen

Memberships

  • The Law Society of England and Wales
  • The Royal Society of Medicine
  • The Danish UK Chamber of Commerce

Education

  • Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test, BPP (admitted as a solicitor of England and Wales, 2004)
  • Advokat, Denmark
  • University of Copenhagen (LLM)

Expertise

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Thomas advises on the protection and commercialisation of intellectual property in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, in food technology, and in the related technology industries. His transactional work covers licensing and technology transfer, research and development collaborations, co-development and joint ventures, clinical trials, manufacturing and supply, and distribution and agency. He also advises on IT contracts, data protection and public procurement.

Thomas originally qualified as an Advokat in Denmark and practised in Copenhagen before requalifying as a solicitor in England and Wales. He has since then worked in private legal practice in London and in senior in-house legal roles in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors in England, Switzerland and Austria.

From 2002 to 2023 Thomas held senior legal roles in the United Kingdom’s national public health bodies, latterly as General Counsel and Deputy Director of the UK Health Security Agency and, before that, at Public Health England, the Health Protection Agency and the Microbiological Research Authority. He led a legal function responsible for national and international commercial agreements, manufacturing and supply arrangements, services and research and development, overseeing portfolios of agreements generating approximately £150-200 million a year. During the pandemic he was appointed General Counsel for NHS Test and Trace, leading a team of up to 20 lawyers and advising on public procurement and research for nationally critical programmes.

Thomas also served two four-year terms as a Trustee of Fight for Sight, one of the UK’s leading ophthalmology research charities, and as Acting Chair of its Research Committee, contributing to the oversight of research strategy, funding and scientific priorities.

Thomas’ practice spans the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries and India. He has longstanding working relationships with Indian law firms and has advised Nordic and British companies entering the Indian market, working alongside Indian counsel. He works in English and Danish and has working knowledge of German, Swedish and Norwegian.

Thomas advises

Back to top
  • General Counsel and in-house legal teams
  • Chief executives, founders and boards
  • Business development, licensing and alliance management teams
  • Scientific leadership, research directors and technology transfer teams
  • Clinical operations, regulatory affairs and data protection leads
  • Procurement and commercial teams in public bodies and their suppliers
  • Trustees and boards of research charities

In relevant subjects including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics, contract research and manufacturing, food technology, public health bodies, the NHS and government, universities and research institutes, and medical research charities.

Experience Highlights

Back to top
  • Advised a US-based biopharmaceutical company and its contract research organisation on clinical trial agreements across multiple European jurisdictions for studies involving an investigational monoclonal antibody.
  • Advised European subsidiaries of US-based global life sciences and technology companies on their commercial contracts, including supply, distribution, services and reseller arrangements and on NHS pricing systems.
  • Drafted deposit and research licensing terms for major UK Government biological resource and stem cell repositories.
  • Drafted an agreement licensing an attenuated virus strain to a major international pharmaceutical company for vaccine manufacture.
  • Advised Public Health England on the legal aspects of food-borne outbreak investigations, including statutory powers, information sharing with local authorities and other agencies, data protection, and the handling of commercially sensitive information.
  • Advised on the establishment and commercialisation of government spin-out biotechnology companies.
  • Drafted and negotiated a material transfer and intellectual property licensing agreement with a US biopharmaceutical company for a collaboration concerning the development of a strategic recombinant vaccine for a US government programme.
  • Led the drafting and negotiation of a distribution agreement with a leading international pharmaceutical group for a specialist oncology biopharmaceutical product.
  • Drafted and negotiated a series of extension agreements relating to the licensing of proprietary neurotoxin materials and associated technology to a major international pharmaceutical company.
  • Negotiated the transfer of proprietary mobile roaming technology from a Danish developer to an Indian network operator.
  • As Head of Legal Affairs at Octapharma AG, led legal support for licensing, research and development, and manufacturing arrangements.

Career History

Back to top

Previous roles

  • Consultancy assignments through Axiom Law
  • Senior Legal Counsel, Adaptimmune Ltd
  • General Counsel and Deputy Director, UK Health Security Agency
  • General Counsel, NHS Test and Trace
  • Deputy Director and Head of Commercial Legal Affairs, Public Health England
  • Consultant roles at Miller Rosenfalck LLP and RWK Goodman LLP
  • Head of Commercial Legal Affairs, Health Protection Agency
  • Sole Legal Counsel, Microbiological Research Authority
  • Head of Legal Affairs, Octapharma AG, Switzerland/Austria
  • Private legal practice, Copenhagen
  • External lecturer at the University of Copenhagen

Memberships

  • The Law Society of England and Wales
  • The Royal Society of Medicine
  • The Danish UK Chamber of Commerce

Education

  • Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test, BPP (admitted as a solicitor of England and Wales, 2004)
  • Advokat, Denmark
  • University of Copenhagen (LLM)