Gowling WLG's head of life sciences, Patrick Duxbury, is one of this year's successful Who's Who Legal Award winners. He has been awarded 'Life Sciences - Transactional Lawyer of the Year 2019' at the prestigious, international awards, held at the Gibson Hall in London.

The Who's Who Legal Awards recognise exceptional individuals and firms across 34 practice area disciplines, based on in-depth, rigorous research.

Commenting on the award win, Patrick Duxbury said: "It's a tremendous honour to receive this award. We have a highly skilled, global life sciences practice at Gowling WLG and I've been proud to lead on a number of significant and complex transactions for the team; the most recent being a $6.9 billion cancer drug collaboration agreement for AstraZeneca with Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited.

"It's an interesting time for the sector with an increasing move into more high-tech collaborations. We are excited to play our part in that trend, supporting clients with their development plans."

Originally, a microbiologist and geneticist before requalifying as a lawyer in 1993, Patrick specialises in all aspects of transactional work in the life sciences sector. He is a 'leading individual' in Legal 500 2019 and is both a well-known speaker in the area of life sciences and teaches on the BIO Advanced Business Development Course in both the US and Europe.

Gowling WLG's global Life Sciences team combines extensive sector expertise with full-service capability. With a reputation for being "excellent for corporate and investment transactions" and "complex licence, research and collaboration agreements" (Chambers UK 2019), its clients range from global pharmaceutical companies and leading research and academic bodies, to small private companies and start-up businesses.