About Marya

Marya represents public and private life sciences companies in an eclectic range of complex transactions – including collaborations, license agreements, options to license or purchase, territory-specific licenses, joint venture and other profit-sharing arrangements, co-promotion relationships, and manufacture and supply agreements. She counsels clients with respect to the structuring and negotiation of agreements designed to maximize the value of the company's products and technology assets. She has particular expertise handling strategic alliances between biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in areas as diverse as collaborative research and the development and marketing of late-stage pharmaceutical products.

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Experience

    Forbius Agrees to Sell to Bristol Myers Squibb

    August 25, 2020

    Cooley advised Forbius – a clinical-stage protein engineering company that designs and develops biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer and fibrotic diseases – on its agreement to sell to Bristol Myers Squibb. Barbara Borden, Marya Postner and Rowook Park led the Cooley team advising Forbius. 

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    Related contacts

    Rowook Park
    Partner, San Diego
    Barbara Borden
    Senior Counsel, San Diego
    Rajdeep Roger Bains
    Associate, San Diego
    David Dalton
    Associate, Santa Monica
    Xander Lee
    Partner, Santa Monica
    Lindsey O'Crump
    Associate, Washington, DC
    Marya Postner
    Partner, Palo Alto
    Dr. Michael Tuscan
    Partner, Washington, DC
    Aaron Pomeroy
    Partner, Colorado
    Barbara Mirza
    Partner, Santa Monica
    Ross Eberly
    Partner, Santa Monica
    Natasha Leskovsek
    Of Counsel, Washington, DC
    Jeffery Wyzykowski
    Patent Agent, Washington, DC
    Phil Mitchell
    Partner, New York
    Dr. Steve Cuss
    Associate, London
    Tanya Heare-Rowlands
    Special Counsel, London

    Related Practices & Industries

    Sangamo Announces Global Licensing Collaboration Agreement with Biogen

    April 10, 2020

    Cooley advised Sangamo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, in its global licensing collaboration agreement with Biogen for the development and commercialization of gene regulation therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, neuromuscular and other neurological diseases.

    Under the terms of the agreement, Sangamo will receive $225 million from the purchase by Biogen of newly issued Sangamo stock as well as an upfront license fee of $125 million. Additionally, Sangamo is eligible to earn up to $2.37 billion in other development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, including up to $925 million in pre-approval milestone payments and up to $1.445 billion in first commercial sale and other sales-based milestone payments. Sangamo is also eligible to earn tiered high single-digit to sub-teen double-digit royalties on potential net commercial sales of products arising from the collaboration.

    Related contacts

    Marya Postner
    Partner, Palo Alto
    Jennifer Raab
    Partner, Palo Alto

    Related Practices & Industries

    Jazz Pharma Announces Exclusive License Agreement with PharmaMar

    December 20, 2019

    Cooley advised Jazz Pharmaceuticals, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing products that address unmet medical needs, in its exclusive license agreement with PharmaMar for lurbinectedin in the United States. Under the terms of this agreement, PharmaMar will receive an upfront payment of $200 million with potential regulatory milestone payments of up to $250 million upon the achievement of accelerated and/or full regulatory approval of lurbinectedin by FDA within certain timelines. PharmaMar is also eligible to receive up to $550 million in potential commercial milestone payments, as well as incremental tiered royalties on future net sales of lurbinectedin ranging from the high teens up to 30 percent.

    Related contacts

    Marya Postner
    Partner, Palo Alto
    Jennifer Raab
    Partner, Palo Alto

    Related Practices & Industries

    Iconic Therapeutics Announces Option and License Agreement with Exelixis

    May 17, 2019

    Cooley advised Iconic Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer and retinal disease, in its exclusive option and license agreement with Exelixis to advance an innovative next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) program for cancer. Under the terms of the agreement, Exelixis will gain an exclusive option to license ICON-2, Iconic’s lead oncology ADC program, in exchange for an upfront option payment to Iconic of $7.5 million and a commitment of preclinical development funding. Exelixis would exercise its option at the time of a potential IND application, and upon doing so would make an option exercise payment to Iconic and assume responsibilities for all subsequent clinical development and commercialization activities. Should Exelixis elect to exercise its option, Iconic will become eligible for future development, regulatory and commercialization milestone payments, as well as royalties on potential sales.

    Related contacts

    Marya Postner
    Partner, Palo Alto

    Related Practices & Industries

    GTx Announces Reverse Merger with Oncternal Therapeutics

    March 8, 2019

    Cooley advised GTx, a biopharmaceutical company, in its reverse merger with Oncternal Therapeutics in which the combined company will operate under the name Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc., and its shares will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol “ONCT.” Under the terms of the agreement, all of Oncternal’s outstanding shares of common stock and securities convertible into or exercisable for Oncternal’s common stock were converted into GTx common stock and securities convertible into or exercisable for GTx common stock. Following the completion of the merger, the former stockholders of Oncternal held approximately 77.5% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the combined company. In addition to retaining an ownership interest representing approximately 22.5% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the combined company, the GTx stockholders of record as of immediately prior to the effective time of the merger received contingent value rights (CVR) entitling the holders to receive, in the aggregate, 75% of any net proceeds derived from the grant, sale or transfer of rights to GTx’s selective androgen receptor degrader (SARD) and selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) technology during the term of the CVR and, if applicable, to receive royalties on the sale of any SARD products by the combined company during the term of the CVR.

    Related contacts

    Marya Postner
    Partner, Palo Alto

    Related Practices & Industries

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Admissions and credentials

  • California
  • Registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Rankings and accolades

Chambers USA: Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial – California (2020 – 2025)

Legal 500: Healthcare: Life Sciences “Key Lawyer”

LMG Life Sciences: Finance & Transactional “Star”

Best Lawyers in America: Biotechnology Law

IAM Patent 1000: Go-to for Biotech and Biopharmaceutical Companies

Who’s Who of Legal

Memberships and affiliations

  • American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Sigma Xi
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science

Respected transactional practice counseling life sciences companies in a broad range of matters, including licensing, joint ventures and collaborations.

Chambers USA: Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial – California (2022)

There is no one better at drafting in the industry.

Chambers USA: Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial – California (2022)

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