Craig Simpson

Associate

• csimpson@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Brussels Office

Craig is a UK qualified solicitor and a member of Steptoe & Johnson LLP's EU Regulatory & Industry Affairs and Antitrust and Competition practice groups. His practice focuses on EU regulatory requirements and related commercial issues in the life sciences field and EC competition law.

He has particular experience in the following areas:

• competition law (issues affecting the life sciences industry, intellectual property licensing, technology standardisation and interoperability in the pharmaceutical and telecoms industries);
• chemicals (biocides, pesticides and REACH);
• food and feed (ingredients’ regulatory status, labelling and claims, traceability and hygiene issues);
• medical devices (authorisation and classification issues);
• pharmaceuticals (competition advice regarding intellectual property); and
• product safety (compliance with CE marking legislation).

Craig's regular clients are leading multinational companies and trade associations operating at both European and international levels. His experience includes advising clients on the procedures and remedies available before the European courts.

Craig regularly lectures and publishes on matters affecting the Life Sciences industries and competition law. He is consistently recommended as a leading practitioner in the Global Counsel Which Lawyer? Yearbook for EU Life Sciences, an independent survey of leading multinational companies’ approved counsel. Before joining Steptoe, Craig was an EU regulatory lawyer in the Brussels office of a well-known London-based firm and trained with the European Commission’s Directorate-General Internal Market, dealing with actions against EU Member States for infringement of EC Treaty rules on free movement of goods.

Representative Matters

A recent list of matters in which Craig has acted includes:

• representing software trade association intervening in the European Court of First Instance in support of the European Commission’s competition infringement decision against Microsoft;
• preparing complaint by mobile communications company to DG Competition regarding abuse of a dominant position by licensors of technology standard essential patents;
• analysing competition law implications of a joint purchasing agreement by airline carriers to purchase computerised travel distribution services;
• advising medical device trade association on competition compliance regarding market surveys and at association meetings;
• competition compliance advice regarding distribution, agency, technology transfer and trade mark licence agreements;
• strategic advice on consortia formation, data sharing, data protection and competition law compliance under REACH;
• drafting Task Force and Data Sharing Agreements for collective dossier notification under Biocides Product Review Regulations and advising on competition issues re conditions for Task Force membership and exchange of information between competitors;
• representing biotechnology company in defending authorisation of several active substances before the European Court of First Instance;
• drafting Letters of Access and supply agreements for biocidal products;
• advising dental product manufacturer on CE marking and product recall obligations;
• advising pharmaceutical development company on competition law in arbitration concerning dispute over patent and know-how licence royalties;
• lodging submission with European Commission requesting review of classification of medical device under Medical Devices Directive 93/42;
• lodging Article 28 complaint with European Commission regarding national food legislation restricting EU trade;
• strategic advice on challenging national legislation based on EU Food Supplements Directive;
• complete regulatory health check for the marketing of an energy drink in several EU Member States including regulatory clearance for borderline products and advice on acceptable product claims; and
• advice on migration of chemical substances from food packaging and on country of origin labelling.

News, Seminars & Events

• Darren Abrahams, Craig Simpson Speaking at EU Chemicals Regulation Conference
• Steptoe REACH Team Recommended Again
• Craig Simpson speaks at American College of Toxicology Annual Meeting
• EU Analyst's Inaugural Issue Produced by Environment & Life Sciences Team
• Simpson and Abrahams on Functional Foods
• Antitrust Victory
• REACH in Practice: Lessons Learned, July 9, 2008
• How to Get the Most Out of REACH Pre-registration, February 6, 2008, (A Steptoe-sponsored event)
• REACH Pre-registration: Preparation & Execution Webcast, October 23, 2007, (A Steptoe-sponsored event)
• REACH in Practice, June 1, 2007, (A Steptoe-Sponsored Event)
• Craig Simpson Speaks at IBC Life Sciences 13th Annual BPD Conference, September 25, 2006

Publications & Speaking Engagements

• EU Analyst: Environment & Life Sciences
  June 17, 2008
• Standardising technology
  A further look at patent ambush and FRAND licensing undertakings
  May 2008, Competition Law Insight
• How to Get the Most Out of REACH Pre-registration
  February 8, 2008
• REACH in practice - challenges for the life sciences sector
  2007
• Regulation of Nanotechnology in Food
  June 14, 2007
• EU Analyst: Environment & Life Sciences: A Detailed Description of REACH
  February 2007
• Regulating Obesity: The Right Path?
  December 29, 2006, PLC Cross-Border Life Sciences Handbook 2006/07
• EU Analyst: Environment & Life Sciences
  October 2006
• Craig Simpson Presents on REACH Updates at CSPA Conference in Chicago, May 6, 2008
• REACH: Current Issues for US Industry, May 6, 2008
• SIEFs and Consortia: Cooperation under REACH, April 8, 2008
• Regulation of Nanotechnology in Food, June 14, 2007, Agra Informa Nanotechnology in Food Seminar

More Publications »

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Consumer Affairs Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU