Hanna Paloheimo

Senior Counsel, Head of Life Sciences, Member of the Finnish Bar, Master of Science

Services

  1. Life Sciences
  2. Intellectual Property
  3. Dispute Resolution

Contact details

I am responsible for our firm’s life sciences practice, and I have many years of experience in IP and technology and dispute resolution. My practice covers patent litigation, pharmaceutical regulatory matters, food law and health technology, commercial agreements such as licensing and distribution agreements, and marketing law. Besides my law degree, I hold a master of sciences degree in genetics, which provides additional insight in meeting the needs of life science, pharmaceutical, and health technology companies.

Chambers Europe, Chambers Global, Best Lawyers and IAM Patent 1000 rank me among Finland’s leading legal experts.

Latest references

Valio – Acquisition of the Härkis® and Beanit® fava bean brands
We advised Valio Oy in its acquisition of Raisio Oyj’s plant protein business, related fixed assets and the Härkis® and Beanit® fava bean brands. The fixed assets include, among other things, the production equipment of the factory that makes plant protein products in Kauhava. The transaction supports Valio’s strategy to grow from a dairy company to a food company. This business acquisition will make us an even more significant developer and producer of plant-based protein products. The demand for these products will grow in the long term, and a great deal of growth potential still remains. In 2022, we acquired the Gold&Green® business and, since then, we have been carrying out strong product development and renewed the brand. Following successful product launches, sales in the last quarter of 2024 increased by about 50% from the previous quarter. With this acquisition, we are building our own production capacity. The production equipment of the Kauhava factory is just right for our needs and situation. says Kimmo Luoma, Valio’s Senior Vice President. Valio is a Finnish dairy and food company founded in 1905 and owned by Finnish dairy cooperatives. Valio has subsidiaries in Sweden, Estonia, the United States and China. In 2023, the Group had a turnover of EUR 2 278 million and more than 4 000 employees.
Case published 14.2.2025
Arctic Biomaterials – Patent litigation over bioactive biomaterials for orthopedic implants
We successfully represented Arctic Biomaterials Oy before the Finnish Market Court in an extensive dispute concerning alleged patent infringement and invalidity of the patent-in-suit. Our client has invented next-generation bioabsorbable composites that are engineered with Arctic Biomaterials’ X3 bioactive natural mineral fibers, offering robust, bioactive reinforcement for orthopedic implants. These advanced composites empower customers to create high-strength bioabsorbable solutions for the most demanding applications. Back in 2019, Purac Biochem B.V. alleged, among other things, that our client’s Evolvecomp product had infringed Purac Biochem B.V.’s European patent validated in Finland protecting a biocompatible composite and its use. Purac Biochem B.V. filed a preliminary injunction against our client under the Act on Securing the Provision of Evidence in Civil Cases Concerning Industrial Property Rights and Copyright (344/2000). The Finnish Market Court issued an ex-parte injunction against our client on 2 April 2019 (MAO:150/19) and a final injunction on 19 February 2020 (MAO:59/20). Our client had disputed Purac Biochem B.V.’s patent infringement claim from the beginning and claimed that the patent-in-suit was invalid. After five years of litigation, the Finnish Market Court handed down a ruling in the joined invalidity and infringement cases on 10 October 2024 (MAO:560/2024 and MAO:561/2024) declaring Purac Biochem B.V.’s patent invalid and dismissing Purac’s infringement action against Arctic Biomaterials. Also, the preliminary injunction based on an alleged patent infringement imposed against Arctic Biomaterials was cancelled. The Market Court declared Purac Biochem B.V.’s patent invalid due to a lack of inventive step. The Market Court applied the could-would method for determining whether the patent-in-suit is inventive or not. The could-would method is based on determining whether a person skilled in the art would (not simply could, but would) have made a specific improvement to prior solutions, based on the available prior art. The Market Court ruled that it would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art to solve the objective technical problem of the patent-in-suit in the manner presented in claim 1, using as a starting point the closest prior art (prior patent publication) and combining it with the teaching of another prior art publication. The decision is final.
Case published 29.1.2025
Mérieux Equity Partners – Acquisition of Labquality
We acted as the legal and ESG advisor to Mérieux Equity Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in Labquality through a leveraged buyout by its buyout fund, Mérieux Participations 4. Existing shareholders of Labquality, including Cor Group and the management, will reinvest a portion of their proceeds into the company in connection with the transaction. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Labquality is a Nordic player specialized in EQA, CRO activities and regulatory affairs, with a strong local presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The company provides a comprehensive array of services for the healthcare, medical technology, and pharmaceutical industries. The company, employing over 120 professionals and supported by a network of more than 150 external experts and consultants across its offices in Finland, Germany, and Poland, serves a diverse clientele of over 8,000 customers, including major pharmaceutical companies in over 60 countries. Mérieux Equity Partners (MxEP) is an AMF-accredited management company dedicated to equity investments in the Healthcare and Nutrition sectors. MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and companies with differentiated products and services, giving them privileged access to its sector expertise and international network. The transaction will enable Labquality to pursue its buy & build strategy in Europe to accelerate its CRO activities while continuing strong and recurring growth in the EQA segment. Labquality will benefit from MxEP’s sector expertise and financial resources to achieve its ambition of becoming a leading European CRO and EQA platform, with fully integrated regulatory consulting capabilities to serve major customers across Europe.
Case published 4.12.2023
Voisin Consulting Life Sciences (VCLS) – Acquisition of MedEngine
We advised Voisin Consulting Life Sciences (VCLS) on the acquisition of MedEngine, a leading medical science agency in the Nordics. MedEngine is a digitally minded, premium service provider for the pharmaceutical industry, built upon extensive academic expertise and years of experience in the industry. Founded in 2014, MedEngine has a strong presence across the Nordic countries with offices in Helsinki (Finland), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Stockholm (Sweden). Founded in 1997, VCLS provides end-to-end HealthTech solutions to support biotechnology, pharmaceutical and MedTech manufacturers throughout their product development. With offices in the US, France, UK, Switzerland, Denmark, Madagascar, India, and China, VCLS serves a broad range of developers and investors in HealthTech.
Case published 7.11.2023
Oddlygood and Valio – Acquisition of Planti
We advised Valio and Oddlygood in their acquisition of the Nordic brand and business Planti. Through the acquisition, Oddlygood becomes the owner of the Planti products and brand, as well as related intellectual property rights. Oddlygood becomes the market leader in plant-based dairy alternative spoonable snacks in Sweden and dairy alternative cooking products in Finland. Simultaneously, Oddlygood’s majority owner Valio acquires Planti’s production in Turku, including the employees at the site. Until the acquisition, the Planti brand was part of the Norwegian Kavli Group.
Case published 3.10.2023
Biovian – Manufacturing facility project
We acted as advisor to Biovian in a EUR 50 million manufacturing facility project in Turku, Finland. The new facility to be constructed in connection with the project will cover an area of 6,400 sqm and house cutting-edge equipment and advanced technologies to support the development, manufacturing, and testing of ATMP (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products). It will also feature dedicated Class A to D cleanroom areas for bulk drug substances as well as final drug product manufacture. The construction project is expected to be completed in December 2024. Biovian is a globally operating GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) of biopharmaceuticals, providing development and manufacturing services from early stage to finished product. Biovian is especially focusing on viral vector production, microbial production of recombinant proteins and GMP plasmid DNA.
Case published 30.8.2023
Lifa Air – Listing on First North
We advised Lifa Air Plc in its listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. The company raised gross proceeds of approximately EUR 7.7 million in the initial public offering that consisted of public, institutional and personnel offerings. After the IPO, the company has over 1,100 shareholders. ‘The listing and the funds raised through the IPO will support us in implementing our growth strategy. Many things create demand for Lifa Air’s products, ranging from the pandemic with no foreseeable end, new airborne diseases and pathogens, the increase of air pollutants and an increasingly poor quality of indoor air as well as geopolitical threats’, says Vesa Mäkipää , CEO of Lifa Air. Trading in Lifa Air’s shares began on First North on 20 April 2022. Lifa Air is a Finnish technology company established in 1988 and headquartered in Helsinki. It offers solutions for clean breathing air. Lifa Air’s business is divided into three business segments: air purifiers, respirators and medical face masks, and ventilation hygiene products.
Case published 21.4.2022
9Lives Group – Acquisition of Stella Kotipalvelut
We advised first aid and ambulance service company 9Lives Group Oy when it acquired the entire share capital of Stella Kotipalvelut Oy. The acquisition is at the heart of 9Lives’ strategy and is driven by, among other things, the SOTE reform and the megatrend of population aging. ‘Stella is one of the leading players in home care and personal care in Finland. By combining our strengths and expertise, we will have an even stronger foothold in the market as well as a more comprehensive service network, and we will be able to offer high-quality and versatile care close to the customer competitively. In addition, as a Finnish-owned and entrepreneur-driven operator, we are able to react to market changes quickly, in a customer-oriented and reliable manner’, says Markus Ulfstedt , CEO and owner of 9Lives. 9Lives is Finland’s largest private company providing first aid and ambulance services. The clients of its ambulance services are public actors and medical institutions. The company has also lately become known with COVID-19. The company’s turnover in 2020 was approximately EUR 20 million and it employs 800 people. Stella Kotipalvelut Oy is a company specialising in home care services, with a turnover of EUR 24 million in 2020. The company employs 1,600 people, of whom 520 are permanent employees.
Case published 5.1.2022
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