Steffen Thomas has over 25 years of experience as a European patent attorney. He has been practicing as a German and European patent attorney in private practice since July 2025. From September 2011 to June 2025, Dr. Thomas practiced at Epping Hermann Fischer, a major intellectual property law firm in Europe. Prior to that, Dr. Thomas worked for Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, the largest pharmaceutical company in Asia and a leading pharmaceutical company worldwide, as an in-house patent attorney. Prior to that, he worked for Nycomed Pharma, which was acquired by Takeda in 2011 for approximately USD 10 billion. Dr. Thomas’ legal practice covers drafting of patent applications, prosecuting patent applications before national and international patent offices, defending and challenging patents in opposition, appeal, and nullity proceedings, enforcing patents before infringement courts, and preparing opinions on patentability and infringement in the technical field of chemistry. Dr. Thomas has particular expertise in small-molecule pharmaceuticals. He holds MS and PhD degrees in Chemistry from the University of Munich.