Life Sciences

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Pillsbury’s Life Sciences practice operates at the intersection of science, business and law, providing clients with novel solutions to their unique and complex problems and helping them achieve their goals.

Comprising more than 70 lawyers and senior advisers, Pillsbury’s Life Sciences team possesses the right combination of legal experience, business acumen and scientiﬁc knowledge. For decades, Pillsbury has been helping public companies, startups, nonproﬁt institutions, entrepreneurs and scientists engaged in the life sciences industry overcome hurdles, leverage opportunities and reach their full potential. We advise on corporate formation, startup funding, venture ﬁnancing, IPOs, private investment in public equity, credit facilities, corporate governance, SEC compliance, licensing, collaborations, mergers and acquisitions. We help clients obtain and enforce U.S. and international protection, ﬁling and prosecuting thousands of patent applications annually, and working tirelessly to protect trade secrets and other intellectual property rights. Further, our skilled litigators stand ready to protect life sciences clients’ rights in disputes in and out of court throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Team members have industry-speciﬁc credentials that span pharmacogenomics, bioinformatics, stem cell technologies, transgenics, gene therapies, diagnostics, receptor-ligand interactions, immunomodulators, genetically modiﬁed foods and other emerging industry segments. Many hold Ph.D.s and other advanced degrees in ﬁelds like cellular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, molecular biology, chemical engineering and physics, and others have served as judicial law clerks for the Federal Circuit and as USPTO examiners.

We pride ourselves on our ability to identify trends, highlight opportunities to enhance our clients’ market position and service all our clients’ legal needs. Working collaboratively with lawyers throughout our ﬁrm, we regularly advise and assist our life sciences clients regarding:

Corporate, Financial and Transactional
- Our experience representing pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology companies is extensive, going back to the landmark initial public offering by Genentech that heralded the acceleration of innovation in the biotech industry. We have advised some of the most scientifically disruptive and successful life sciences companies ever since. Our corporate team is adept at guiding businesses through major corporate events and transactions, as well as in their day-to-day operations. Our services include the formation and dissolution of joint ventures and other strategic alliances; handling acquisitions and divestitures; and structuring and negotiating joint operating, licensing, distribution, co-promotion, manufacturing and supply agreements.

Emerging Companies & Venture Capital
- Pillsbury’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital team counsels high-growth enterprises and venture capital investors across the U.S. and worldwide. We have taken shoestring startups to market leading positions, regularly assisting in client fundraising eﬀorts, technology transactions and acquisitions. Further, we help emerging company clients and investor clients analyze and navigate exit strategies to accomplish their business objectives.

Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement
- Well versed in a wide range of technologies, our lawyers help life sciences clients capitalize on their intellectual property assets. We prepare and prosecute patent applications; help clients secure patents worldwide; evaluate competitors’ IP positions; negotiate technology and other licensing and collaboration agreements; identify appropriate partners for speciﬁc technology development; advise on IP portfolio management and optimization; conduct complex patent invalidity, infringement, due diligence and freedom-to-operate analyses; and resolve IP-related disputes in and out of court.

International Arbitration
- We offer decades of experience adjudicating disputes administered by international arbitral institutions worldwide. We represented a pharmaceutical company in International Chamber of Commerce arbitration to determine ownership, trade secrets and enforcement rights regarding biotechnology materials and related patents.

Global Sourcing
- Our technology transaction lawyers regularly advise pharma clients on major IT outsourcing transactions and have ample experience negotiating Quality Agreements with pharma supply chain actors, as well as services agreements for contract manufacturing and clinical trials.

Litigation
- Pillsbury’s litigators closely follow the complex issues that challenge the life sciences industry and have extensive experience in courts and in arbitration proceedings. Our lawyers assert and defend clients’ rights in disputes regarding activities and demands of competitors, licensors and licensees, collaborators, inventors, shareholders, consumer classes and regulatory organizations. We regularly advise on and resolve disputes regarding intellectual property, joint ventures, patents, partnerships, corporate securities, contracts, trade secrets, unfair competition allegations and a host of other disputes. Our lawyers represent clients in U.S. and international arenas, including in U.S. district court, Federal Circuit Court, International Trade Commission and U.S. Patent and Trademark Oﬃce actions and proceedings.
- Our team of lawyers has collectively handled — including as lead trial counsel — more than 75 Hatch-Waxman litigation matters across the country. Many of these litigation matters were handled on behalf of the world’s largest generic pharmaceutical companies. From providing pre-suit PIV filing strategies and legal opinions through trial and appeal, our team of lawyers has done it all, including negotiating favorable settlements and licensing agreements. Our lawyers’ significant record of successes and groundbreaking experiences — including representing a client in the first-ever IPR challenge of a pharmaceutical patent before the PTAB — fortifies our ability to win and employ strategies to obtain favorable settlements for our clients.

Representative Experience

Represented BioLegend, a leading global provider of life science antibodies and reagents, in its $5.25 billion acquisition by PerkinElmer, Inc.
Represented the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in a record-setting $3.3 billion sale of drug rights to Royalty Pharma following an intensive IP due diligence effort.
Achieved favorable arbitration ruling for the University of Kansas following years litigating a closely watched battle over inventorship credit on National Institute of Health-owned patents covering cancer drug formulations.

Intellectual Property
- Represented petitioner Medtronic in three inter partes review proceedings in which all challenged claims to a “Percutaneous Aortic Valve Replacement” were found unpatentable by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a ruling the Federal Circuit affirmed on appeal.
- Pursued action for Invitae Corporation to have declared invalid genetic testing patents asserted by Myriad Genetics in a Utah MDL proceeding. Following extensive litigation, Myriad abandoned its patent enforcement eﬀorts.
- Defended Menicon Co. Ltd. in a Massachusetts district court patent infringement case and obtained a favorable resolution following a Markman hearing.
- Represented a cord blood stem cell bank in a New Jersey trade secret and confidential information misappropriation action against a former manager who took confidential data to his national sales VP position with a direct competitor.

Transactions
- Represented medical genetics testing company Invitae on an agreement to buy ArcherDX for up to $1.4 billion — creating a global leader in comprehensive cancer genetics and precision oncology.
- Represented MediciNova, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, in the first Japanese IPO by a U.S. company that was not dual-listed in the United States. MediciNova sold $116.4 million of its common stock in its initial public offering on the Hercules market of the Osaka Stock Exchange.
- Represented Chase Pharmaceuticals in equity financing by New Rhein Ventures, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and Cipla (EU) Ltd.
- Represented Opexa Therapeutics in its merger with Acer Therapeutics to focus on developing personalized immunotherapies.
- Represented Genomic Health, Inc ., a genetic research company, in its $60 million initial public offering.
- Represented Receptos, Inc. in its $72.8 million initial public offering.

Practice Area Highlights

Pillsbury advised Accelerated Infection Protection Technologies, Inc. in developing a breakthrough medication designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Global Sourcing & Technology Transactions
- Chambers Global and Chambers USA have repeatedly recognized Pillsbury's Outsourcing and Technology practices among the best globally.
- The Legal 500 U.S. named Pillsbury a top-ranked Tier 1 firm in Outsourcing.
- U.S. News—Best Lawyers consistently recognizes Pillsbury's Information Technology practice as Tier 1 nationwide in their "Best Law Firms" list.
- International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) selected Pillsbury as among the "World's Best Outsourcing Advisors" in their Global Outsourcing 100 list (2009-2021).

Technology Acquisitions and Licensing
- Chambers USA consistently ranks Pillsbury's Intellectual Property practice and individuals in Northern Virginia.
- The Legal 500 U.S. consistently ranks Pillsbury's Patent Prosecution practice nationally.
- U.S. News—Best Lawyers consistently recognizes Pillsbury's Intellectual Property practice as Tier 1 nationwide in their Best Law Firms list.
- Pillsbury's Intellectual Property practice was ranked among the best globally in the World Trademark Review 1000 (2021).
- Ranked in Washington, DC for litigation and prosecution and in Texas for litigation, prosecution and transactions by Intellectual Asset Management's IAM Patent 1000 (2020).
- Recognized by the Financial Times as one of North America's most innovative law firms as part of its 2020 Innovative Law Firms program.

Emerging Growth & Venture Capital
- Recognized by Chambers USA for startups and emerging growth nationally and for venture capital in California.
- U.S. News—Best Lawyers consistently recognizes Pillsbury's Corporate, Securities/Capital Markets, Venture Capital and M&A practices.
- Advised on 1,000+ public equity and debt securities offerings with an aggregate value exceeding $350 billion and $10 billion in venture financings since 2000 for technology and life sciences companies.
- Led more than 80 IPOs, as issuer and as underwriter counsel, including the first internet IPO (Netcom), the first SaaS IPO (WebEx) and the first solar IPO (SunPower).
- Team member Allison Leopold Tilley has been named one of The Recorder’s Women Leaders in Tech Law five years in a row.
- From 2014 to 2018, The Daily Journal named team member Jorge del Calvo to its elite list of California’s top 100 lawyers.

Resources

Life Sciences

Pillsbury’s Life Sciences practice operates at the intersection of science, business and law, providing clients with novel solutions to their unique and complex problems and helping them achieve their goals.

Representative Experience

Practice Area Highlights

Resources

Brochure

Brochure

Factsheet

Factsheet

Factsheet

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