Anna Richo, general counsel and executive vice president of biopharmaceutical company UCB, often uses a narrative style, telling the story of how an innovation can help patients live better with serious diseases, to protect her company’s intellectual property cases in a court of law. Brussels-based Anna Richo used this technique recently to defend a patent for Neupro, a patch that delivers the drug rotigotine to patients with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a common neurological disorder caused by an interruption in normal dopamine balance in the brain. The brain loses nerve cells that produce dopamine, which causes symptoms including tremors and a loss of motor control. Levodopa or L-dopa is the most common drug prescribed for Parkinson’s, because it helps the brain produce dopamine. Over time, however, it can have side effects such as nausea and fatigue. Rotigotine is a dopamine agonist, which acts like dopamine in the brain but does not cause the same side effects. This class of drugs may have short-term side effects such as dizziness, confusion, or hallucinations, but these tend to resolve over time. There are other drugs and treatments that can help people improve their quality of life while they live with Parkinson’s disease, though researchers don’t yet have a cure or a certain preventative measure. People with Parkinson’s should discuss their options with their doctor to determine the best way to manage their condition.
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Attorney Anna Richo serves as executive vice president and general counsel for Brussels-based pharmaceutical firm UCB. In her role, Anna Richo protects the intellectual property of the firm as it develops products to help people with serious diseases, including restless legs syndrome (RLS). RLS, or Willis-Ekbom disease, is a neurological disorder that causes uncomfortable sensations down the legs described by patients as creeping or throbbing, along with an almost uncontrollable urge to move in order to make the sensations stop. Many people suffer more restlessness at night, which can interfere with healthy, uninterrupted sleep. No one knows the exact cause of the disorder, but it seems to be connected with the way the neurotransmitter dopamine moves through a patient’s system. Genes also may play a role, and for some people, iron deficiency may be a cause. RLS is chronic and probably a lifelong disorder. It affects about 10 percent of the American adult population, with women twice as likely as men to be impacted. For some people, lifestyle interventions such as increasing iron consumption and adding regular exercise can help. Patients with more severe RLS symptoms tend to improve with dopamine agonists, opioids, anticonvulsant drugs, or hypnotic drugs. An attorney and an executive in the pharmaceutical industry, Anna Richo serves as executive vice president and general counsel of UCB in Brussels, Belgium. Anna Richo came to this role with a wealth of experience, having previously held leadership roles at Baxter and Amgen. Anna Richo holds a juris doctor from DePaul University College of Law. US News & World Report ranked DePaul’s health Law program 15th in the United States. The school offers not only a health law curriculum, but also a certificate in health law, a master of laws in health care law, and a master of jurisprudence in health care compliance or health law. Students receive mentoring from health law practitioners. They also have the opportunity to work in paid summer positions at prominent firms and health organizations in Chicago through the Jaharis Summer Scholars program. DePaul’s health law faculty are actively engaged in writing on a diverse array of health-related topics, including the licensing of pharmaceuticals, incentive pay, disability discrimination, price transparency, and intellectual property. Further, thanks to an endowment of $5 million from the Jaharis Family Foundation, the Mary and Michael Jaharis Health Law Institute has added a faculty fellow to lecture and write on topics related to intellectual property and health law. |
AuthorAs of November 1, 2012, Anna Richo became Executive Vice President and General Counsel of UCB, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Archives
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