Life Sciences
Why Cooley
We are trusted counsel to 1,900+ public and private life sciences company clients worldwide, including nearly 50% of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. We are adept in all aspects of life sciences technologies, delivering an unparalleled combination of innovative legal guidance, deep industry knowledge and practical understanding of our clients’ needs. Many of our professionals are backed by a wealth of supporting experience, having been pharmaceutical marketing specialists, business consultants, financial leaders, biotech researchers and in-house counsel at life sciences companies.
Corporate
Our clients include both high-growth and mature companies, as well as entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and financial institutions focused on the life sciences sector. We bring to bear decades of experience across a wide range of transaction structures, territories, product stages and technologies.
Capital Markets
#1 life sciences law firm for issuer IPOs over the last five years
- AbCellera Biologics Inc. - $555.5 Million IPO*
- Legend Biotech Corporation - $487.3 Million IPO
- Avidity Biosciences, Inc. - $289.1 Million IPO*
- Kronos Bio, Inc. - $287.5 Million IPO
- Vaxcyte, Inc. - $287.5 Million IPO
*underwriter representation
Venture Financing
We helped 190+ life sciences companies raise more than $7 billion through Q3 2020
- Lyell Immunopharma - $493 Million Series C
- D3 Bio - $200 Million Series A
- Ambrx - $200 Million Series B
- Orca Bio - $192 Million Series D
- Sense Biodetection - $50 million Series C
Since 2010, we have handled 350+ life sciences M&A transactions
- Forty Seven in its agreement to sell to Gilead for $4.9 Billion
- Principia Biopharma in its sale to Sanofi for approximately $3.68 Billion
- VelosBio in its agreement to sell to Merck for $2.75 Billion
- ArcherDX in its agreement to combine With Invitae for $1.4 Billion
- Fastly in its agreement to acquire Signal Sciences for $775 Million
- CStone in its share sale to Pfizer for $200 Million
- Nuvation Bio in its agreement to combine with Panacea, a SPAC
- Proteostasis Therapeutics in its merger agreement with Yumanity Therapeutics
- Forbius in its agreement to sell to Bristol Myers Squibb
Corporate Partnering & Licensing
In the last five years, our team has completed more than 240+ major corporate partnering and licensing deals
- Fate Therapeutics and Janssen Biotech - $3.1 billion deal
- Sangamo and Biogen - $2.7 billion deal
- Neurocrine and Takeda - $2 billion deal
- Arcus Biosciences and Gilead - $2 billion deal
- Hansa Biopharma and Sarepta - $407.5 million deal
Areas of Practice
- Company formation
- Corporate partnering, strategic alliances and joint ventures
- Financings
- Fund formation
- Manufacturing, supply and distribution agreements
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Public financings and private placements
- Real estate and facilities acquisition and leasing
- Tax
- Vendor and investigator contracting
Litigation
We have been at the forefront of representing life sciences clients in complex litigation matters that have touched on nearly every aspect of the law, from False Claims Act, fraud abuse and RICO to unfair competition, provider and member disputes and privacy, consumer and securities class actions.
Areas of Practice
- Class action defense
- Contract and license disputes
- Employment litigation
- False Claims Act/qui tam
- Privacy litigation
- Product liability
- Restructuring, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights
- Securities litigation
Regulatory
Our regulatory lawyers understand the myriad challenges and opportunities facing the life sciences industry and have the depth of experience necessary to navigate the ever-changing rules of this dynamic marketplace. In an environment of increasingly evolving laws and regulations, any company – whether provider, manufacturer, supplier, payor, technology company or investor in this space – must consider the intricate legal and regulatory parameters relevant to its business operations.
Areas of Practice
- Antitrust counseling
- Clinical trial agreements
- Corporate governance
- Employment and benefits
- FDA regulatory strategy and compliance
- Government contracts and reimbursement programs, CRADAs, NIH grants
- Export control and international trade regulations
- Privacy and data protection counseling and data breach response
Healthcare & Life Sciences Regulatory
Intellectual Property
Cooley's IP lawyers structure sophisticated IP-based transactions and licensing agreements, formulate global patent prosecution strategies, handle IP diligence pertaining to high-value investments and transactions, assist with trademark selection and clearance, and provide strategic counseling directed towards maximizing the value of IP assets. We defend our clients' success in courts across the US and UK and regularly litigate all types of IP cases including patent, trade secret, Section 337 investigations, trademark, trade dress, copyright, false advertising, domain name and licensing matters. With deep experience in this sector, our lawyers understand the competitive challenges that are unique to life sciences companies and craft IP strategies which help advance our clients' business goals.