Cornelia Yzer | LUTHER Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH

Cornelia Yzer advises domestic and foreign companies on mergers and acquisitions and on regulatory issues, making them benefit from her many years of experience in industry and in government positions. A particular industry focus of Cornelia Yzer is life science and the digital economy. At Luther, Cornelia Yzer coordinates the industry group Health Care & Life Science and the practice group Digital Health. Furthermore, Cornelia Yzer advises her clients on all aspects of research funding.

IT Law
Corporate/M&A
Environment & Planning Law, Regulatory

Cornelia Yzer not only has many years of experience as a lawyer but also demonstrable expertise as a manager, chairwoman/member of supervisory boards of companies and major research institutions and also from government positions.

In the past, she inter alia held the following positions:

Executive employee at Bayer AG
Chief Managing Director of the German Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (vfa) (1997-2012)
Member of the German Parliament (1990-1998)
Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology (1992-1997)
Senator for Business, Research and Technology of the State of Berlin (2012-2016)
Chairwoman of the Administrative Board of Investitionsbank Berlin, Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of BWB, Member of the Strategic Advisory Board of Medidata Inc., New York (USA), Member of the European Advisory Board of the medical products manufacturer Guidant
Chairwoman of the Boards of Trustees of major research institutions (German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC))
Board Member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA)

Cornelia Yzer studied law and business at the Universities of Bochum and Münster (both Germany). She was admitted to the German Bar in 1990.

The Legal 500 Germany 2024: Recommendation in "Industry focus - Healthcare" (first recommendation in 2022, first mention in 2020)
Best Lawyers 2025: Recommended in "Health Care Law" (first recommended in 2024)

Advising international medicinal product and medical device companies and private equity investors on asset deals in Germany
Providing regulatory advice to a leading German medical device manufacturer on the implementation of new requirements in Germany and the EU (MDR readiness)
Advising contract developers and contract manufacturers of active ingredients (APIs) and finished medicinal products on development and manufacturing agreements and on subcontracting issues
Advising manufacturers of medicinal products and medical devices on contracts with contract research organisations (CROs), cooperation agreements in the field of research and development (R&D) and clinical trials
Advising manufacturers of medicinal products and medical devices on supply agreements
Advising international providers of medical cannabis on market access (including wholesale and BtMG permit, import) and acquisitions of assets in Germany
Advising a German vaccine producer on the conclusion of an agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) regarding the development of a pandemic vaccine
Advising an international personnel services provider on the conclusion of agreements with companies from the pharmaceuticals industry

Member of the Board of Trustees of RKW