Freshfields Bolsters U.S. Life Sciences Practice with Partner Carlo Felizardo in Washington

Global law firm Freshfields continues to expand its U.S. Life Sciences platform with the addition of Washington-based regulatory partner Carlo Felizardo. His appointment builds on a series of strategic investments across Freshfields' U.S. platform and reflects continued client demand for integrated counsel with life sciences strength across transactions, regulatory, intellectual property and disputes matters. Carlo’s arrival closely follows the announcement of Life Sciences partner Andrea Devoe joining in Boston.

"Life sciences is a core focus area for Freshfields, and bringing Carlo on board underscores our dedication to deepening our platform in the U.S.," said U.S. Managing Partner Damien Zoubek. "This step reaffirms our ambition to serve as the trusted partner for sophisticated, high stakes deals with both global life sciences leaders and the next generation of biotech and medtech pioneers as they navigate an increasingly complex and shifting regulatory landscape."

Carlo’s practice is focused on advising clients on identifying, assessing and mitigating U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory risk. He has extensive experience advising on FDA regulatory matters in connection with all manner of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and capital raising transactions. His deep substantive knowledge of the FDA process includes the development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of regulated products spanning branded and generic drugs and drug candidates, biological products, digital health and medical devices. He has worked with a wide variety of life sciences clients – from emerging pre-clinical and clinical-stage companies to large, established manufacturers – and investors in the life sciences space.

"Carlo's deep FDA regulatory background addresses a critical need within our U.S. team, and his commercially minded, transaction-focused perspective will be a real asset to the clients we serve,” noted Kristen Riemenschneider, co-head of the firm’s global Life Sciences practice. “His arrival comes at a meaningful juncture as we broaden our Life Sciences platform—reaching both up-and-coming and well-established companies in the space, as well as the private capital backers concentrated on this sector."

Today’s news marks the 10th strategic U.S. partner addition this year, underscoring Freshfields' continued investment in building leading capabilities across key client priorities, including M&A, private capital, restructuring, litigation and Life Sciences. In addition to Andrea Devoe, these partners include M&A partners Keith Hallam and Bethany Pfalzgraf, White Collar & Investigations partners Daniel L. Stein, Danny Grooms, Alessio Evangelista and Nema Milaninia, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation partner Kathleen Emberger and Restructuring partner Amit Trehan.

Carlo noted: "Joining Freshfields presents a unique opportunity to center my practice on the transactional work I've always prioritized, while contributing to a life sciences platform that is clearly on a remarkable growth trajectory. I was drawn to the firm's cross-border reach and the chance to collaborate closely with colleagues across its global and U.S. teams on clients' most significant projects.”

The firm's recent Life Sciences matters demonstrate the breadth of client demand driving continued investment in the sector, including: advising Terns Pharmaceuticals in its $6.7 billion acquisition by Merck, AbbVie on Its Collaboration with Iambic to Accelerate AI-Driven Drug Discovery, SERB Pharmaceuticals on its €115 million acquisition of European and MENA rights to Idefirix® from Hansa Biopharma and Eli Lilly on a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement with Amplitude Therapeutics.

Freshfields was named Life Sciences America’s Licensing & Collaborations Firm of the Year in 2026 and Law360’s Life Sciences Practice Group of the Year in 2024.