Life Sciences Corporate Partnering and Licensing
In Depth
Breakthroughs happen with Cooley. At Cooley, we don’t just advise – we accelerate your achievements. Our collaborative approach draws upon unparalleled experience and our extensive industry network to drive strategic solutions and resolve challenges. With Cooley as your catalyst, you’re not just part of the life sciences industry – you’re shaping it.
We have a dedicated team of 40+ corporate partnering and licensing lawyers, including senior team members who are internationally recognized as being the best in their field. Many of our lawyers are backed by a wealth of life sciences industry experience, having previously worked as pharmaceutical marketing specialists, business consultants, financial leaders, biotech researchers and in-house counsel at life sciences companies including Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Exelixis, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Merck.
We bring to bear decades of experience across a diverse range of transaction structures, territories, product stages and technologies, including highly structured transactions with other drivers such as equity or research and development investment, option and stage-acquisition rights, complex financing, and tax structure and territory/field sharing.
Areas of practice
Complex early-stage R&D deals
- Advising on target discovery collaborations
- Drafting option-based structures
- Negotiating preclinical program licensing
Clinical-stage asset deals
- Assisting with co-development and/or profit-sharing or other complex financial arrangements
- Advising on equity investments, credit facilities and other off-balance-sheet funding mechanisms
- Counseling on cross-border and global transactions
Commercial-stage assets
- Advising on co-promotion and indication-splitting arrangements
- Assisting in structuring spinoffs, divestitures and out-licenses from pharma
- Negotiating the repurposing of assets
Representative matters
2025
Argo Biopharma Announces Multi-Asset License and Option Agreements With Novartis
Philochem AG Announces up to $1.35 Billion License Agreement With RayzeBio
BioNTech Announces Global Collaboration Agreement With Bristol Myers Squibb
Earendil Labs Announces Worldwide Exclusive License Agreement With Sanofi
Enlaza Therapeutics Announces Strategic Collaboration With Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Hengrui Pharma and GSK Enter Agreement to Develop up to 12 Medicines
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Announces Global Strategic Collaboration With Harbour BioMed
2024
Kura Oncology and Kyowa Kirin – $1.16 billion deal
AviadoBio and Astellas – $2.23 billion deal
Foreseen Biotechnology and Ipsen – $1.03 billion deal
Radionetics Oncology and Eli Lilly – $1.14 billion deal
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