Interview with Edson Souza - LatAm Manager of IP (Bayer)

Leaders League. What are your main challenges as IP Manager of Bayer Latin America?

Edson Souza. As Manager of IP for Latin America my greatest challenge might be constantly transiting between different cultures and legal jurisdictions. For example, Venezuela and Argentina often have more restrictive IP-related pharmaceutical regulations whereas Mexico is a very IP-friendly country which I find easy to work with.

Secondly, my role requires me to work with intellectual property, R&D, pharmaceutical issues, agribusiness matters and countless regulatory issues which forces me to be a thoroughly multidisciplinary legal professional. In this sense, my combined degrees in biotechnology and law have been absolutely essential. One could theoretically perform my role without a scientific background, however, it would be twice as challenging.

How has 2018 fared for Bayer Latin America’s IP department from a legal perspective?

Throughout 2017 and 2018, everyone in our Law, Patents and Compliance (LPC) department has been intensely focused on obtaining regulatory approval for the Bayer/Monsanto merger and ensuring the deal goes through smoothly. Once the deal was approved with restrictions by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) in Brazil, we began working to ensure all of CADE’s requirements were met. In light of CADE’s concerns, Bayer and Monsanto jointly presented remedies via a divestment plan which would see all Bayer-held assets in the soy seed, cotton and glufosinate non-selective herbicide industries sold, thus obtaining local regulatory approval. As major parts of the business had to be divested, this effectively meant preparing entire divisions of Bayer for sale.

We are currently preparing for integration with Monsanto. Although our legal department still has a normal day-to-day routine the transaction has certainly dominated our agenda for the last 18 months.

How will the Bayer/Monsanto merger affect the legal department?

Integration between our legal departments is planned but, at an early stage, we will focus on exploring synergies in terms of what we at Bayer currently have and what they at Monsanto have, to harmonize our practices. For example, we know Monsanto will arrive with a very strong agribusiness division. In any case, we will be ready to receive and integrate Monsanto’s legal team without complications.

How has technology impacted your practice in recent years?

Our legal department innovates as much as possible by continually improving its internal systems and software. A few times a year, we host a ‘LegalTech Day’ in which technology companies visit our offices and offer their very latest software. Consistently absorbing new technologies has contributed to a marked improvement in our productivity and the quality of our output.

What are Bayer LatAm’s expectations for 2019 from a legal perspective?

Looking forward, Bayer’s integration with Monsanto will continue to demand a lot from our legal department as we are talking about two gigantic companies with different cultures and origins. More Bayer-led transactions might also take place which always requires close collaboration with the legal department. On a wider scale, we can also expect potential changes in the proceedings related to Brazilian patent concession as well as regulations affecting generic medication and Brazilian genetic patrimony.

By: François Le Grand