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Rising costs in US healthcare are driving prices higher for consumers while placing increasing pressure on healthcare companies to optimize margins. Meanwhile, industry consolidation has raised the stakes and, in some instances, facilitated increasingly aggressive exercises of bargaining power by payors, providers and others. As a result of these trends, the ability to pursue affirmative legal claims cost effectively has become a strategic imperative for healthcare businesses seeking to vindicate their rights and recover losses while protecting their bottom lines. Legal finance offers a suite of tools to help healthcare businesses do so.

Recently, Burford posed questions to litigation experts in Spain on the impact of the Draft Law on Collective Actions (“DLCA”) on Spanish collective redress. Their perspective is gathered below.

Corporate intellectual property monetization is far from new, but recent years have witnessed numerous noteworthy transactions involving respected and sophisticated IP owners—largely operating companies with global footprints—suggesting growing recognition of patents as valuable financial assets.

As law firms enter 2025, a year that promises continued disruption and opportunity, innovation is not a choice—it’s an imperative. To drive growth, adapt to evolving client demands and maintain a competitive edge, firms must rethink how they operate, starting with how they finance their businesses.

Innovation in life sciences is vital to advancing global healthcare, but it requires immense investment — of ideas, time, and capital. From navigating Europe’s complex IP frameworks to facing high-stakes R&D cycles, life sciences firms must strategically manage and monetize their intellectual property to sustain innovation, and are increasingly using legal finance to do so.

Since the launch of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in June 2023, the European intellectual property landscape has entered a new era—one that has sparked both anticipation and debate among patent litigation experts. Nearly two years in, the real-world impacts of the court are beginning to emerge.

Five years ago, the Collective Damages in Class Actions—better known by its Dutch acronym, WAMCA—entered into force in the Netherlands on 1 January 2020.

Patent monetization, including direct enforcement (litigation), divestitures and licensing arrangements, is becoming increasingly common among companies with significant patent portfolios.

Legal finance is emerging as a critical tool in Hatch-Waxman litigation, enabling both branded and generic pharmaceutical companies to navigate complex patent disputes and pursue strategic outcomes beyond monetary damages.

For many organizations, enforcing intellectual property rights across Europe has long been costly, fragmented and unpredictable, requiring parallel actions in multiple jurisdictions, with inconsistent outcomes and significant time to resolution. This has made it difficult to assess risk, deploy capital efficiently or fully realize the value of patent portfolios.

In a capital-constrained healthcare environment, providers are under pressure to assess every asset. Affirmative litigation claims—often overlooked—can represent meaningful contingent value. Treating litigation as a capital allocation decision, not just a legal one, is increasingly important amid sustained margin pressure.