Urszula Wojtyra

About Urszula Wojtyra

Urszula Wojtyra is a principal at Smart & Biggar in Toronto who litigates patents for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. Wojtyra's practice is in life sciences, including pharmaceuticals and biologics, and regularly involves patent infringement and validity actions in the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, including under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. In court, Wojtyra aims to take a highly technical invention and make the story behind it clear and convincing.

Before law school, Wojtyra completed a Master of Science in biochemistry at the University of Toronto and then worked in an immunology research lab at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. A J.D. from the same university followed, and the call to the Ontario bar came in 2008. Today the litigator draws on a scientific grounding that spans biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology and genetics.

There's a regulatory side to the practice too. Clients bring Wojtyra questions on regulatory due diligence and compliance, along with Canadian data protection and patent listing issues. The principal also co-edits Rx IP Update, Smart & Biggar's monthly newsletter on life sciences IP and regulatory law, and writes for it often. When Lexpert looked at how health sciences law is changing, Wojtyra noted that biosimilar makers used to have to register phase III trials, and that made potential future competitors visible.