Life Sciences Transactions + Licensing

MoFo’s Life Sciences Transactions + Licensing Group is comprised of deal lawyers focused on commercial and licensing transactions across the life sciences ecosystem, fully integrated into the life sciences networks and communities in which we practice.

Our life sciences and healthcare clients, from emerging innovation drivers to iconic brands, rely on our unrivaled depth of knowledge and technological experience, wealth of business insight, renowned legal skill, and both local and global presence for business-critical life sciences transactions, projects, and strategic advice. Our key focus areas are:

• Pharmaceuticals
• Digital Health & Data Science
• Medical Devices
• Food & Agriculture

We have spent decades developing our industry roots, and have cultivated a transactions practice in life sciences that is driven by collaboration, experience in virtually every type of life sciences transaction, and exceptional client service. Together with our Patent, M&A, Privacy, FDA/Regulatory, Antitrust, and other corporate practices, we advise and guide clients through all stages of each transaction to achieve the most effective outcome. Our LST+L Group’s worldwide leads include Matthew Karlyn in Boston, Wolfgang Schoenig in Berlin, Chuan Sun in Shanghai, Masato Hayakawa in Tokyo, and Rufus Pichler in San Francisco.

We are Locally Global. From Boston to San Francisco, Berlin to Tokyo to Shanghai, we are at the forefront of the world’s leading life sciences markets, committed to a local presence that is integrated globally. Our worldwide team of transactional attorneys advise on the full range of transactions that arise during the life cycle of pharmaceutical or agricultural products, from billion-dollar global research, development and marketing collaborations, partnering, licensing initiatives, and cross-technology projects involving data analytics/IT and life sciences, to daily commercial and operational matters. We are committed to working with our broad base of life sciences companies—from startups to some of the world’s largest companies—on a wide array of business transactions related to the convergence of biology and technology and the commercialization of life sciences products.

Our blog MoFo Life Sciences shares timely legal and business insights and in-depth analyses on trends and the complex technologies at the heart of the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, medical devices, digital health, and AgTech fields.

Our team handles the broadest spectrum of life sciences transactions. We excel in structuring and negotiating all types of deals life sciences and healthcare companies may pursue as part of their business strategy. We have exceptionally broad experience in both standard and specialized agreements, including:

• Strategic alliances
• Joint ventures
• Research and development projects
• Data licensing
• Clinical trial agreements
• Licensing and technology transfer arrangements
• Manufacture and supply agreements
• Commercialization strategies

Industries We Serve

Pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals are at the heart of what our clients do. Our attorneys counsel pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies in all aspects of the research, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products.

• In close cooperation with our stellar Patent Group, we advise on in-license, out-license, strategic collaboration, and development agreements across a broad range of pharmaceutical products and technologies, including small molecule pharmaceuticals, biosimilars, antibody therapeutics, immunotherapies, regenerative medicines, and vaccines, including arrangements around the generation and exploitation of data relating thereto. We also advise our clients on in-licensing key technologies, from protein expression technologies to gene editing to other enabling tools.
• Our attorneys also guide clients through negotiation of research and commercial agreements, including CRO, material transfer, and clinical trial, as well as manufacturing, labeling, packaging, supply, distribution, pharmacovigilance, and quality agreements; where needed, we can rely on our market-leading FDA Regulatory + Life Sciences Compliance Group.
• Together with our M&A and corporate practices, we structure build-to-buy complex cross-border collaborations, joint ventures, asset purchases, and merger arrangements in the life sciences space.
• We work closely with our antitrust colleagues with respect to Hart-Scott-Rodino and other antitrust-related issues that arise in collaborations and other pharmaceutical transactions.
• Our Tax Group provides advice in these transactions to achieve tax-efficient outcomes for our clients.

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Digital Health and Data Science. Digitalization provides tremendous opportunities for all segments of the life sciences industry. With our strong background in IT and privacy law, we work at the forefront of the convergence of life sciences and technology. Combining our deep industry knowledge of the various sectors of the life sciences and healthcare industry with our market-leading tech expertise, we help bring technology solutions to market.

• Healthcare companies turn to us with projects involving the improvement of patient outcomes by applying IT to diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and knowledge sharing, for instance, by way of software and database implementation projects or complex outsourcing arrangements.
• We help established research providers or agile startups explore the potential of AI and data science in the life sciences industry by structuring complex information technology sourcing or data sharing arrangements, in each case where required in close collaboration with our premier Privacy & Data Security Practice.
• Key players in the medical device industry rely on us, embracing new opportunities through augmented reality and ubiquitous connectivity, for instance, when it comes to navigating the legal challenges of hardware customization and communication standards.

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Medical Devices. Our attorneys have deep experience in advising medical device, diagnostics, and tool companies in the research, development, and commercialization of medical devices, diagnostics, and research tools.

• We advise on in-license, out-license, strategic collaboration, development, and distribution agreements for medical devices throughout the world, including materials, sensors, optics, monitoring devices, robotic systems, research and diagnostic tools, and diagnostic technologies.
• Like in the pharma space, we help structure commercial agreements around medical devices, including with co-development agreements, clinical trial agreements, and other critical operational agreements, such as design, manufacturing, labeling, packaging, supply, and quality agreements; where needed we can rely on our premiere FDA Regulatory + Life Sciences Compliance Group.
• For medical devices and technologies with software or electronic hardware components, we advise on software and hardware licensing, development, and manufacturing.
• We regularly rely on our highly regarded Patent Group to identify potential FTO concerns, also in the medical device space.

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Food + Agriculture. The Food & AgTech sector is changing at a rapid pace. New technologies like genome editing are revolutionizing how new traits or other products are researched. Similarly, information technology and data science are driving smart farming and the ways in which agricultural products are produced and commercialized.

• With our unique Plant IP Group, we have cultivated a cross-disciplinary practice populated by many experts with advanced degrees in relevant disciplines and deal experience in the industry that mark every aspect of the development, protection, and commercialization of food and agricultural products.
• Our licensing attorneys help to create global collaborations in the area of trait development or trait licensing, secure access to the most innovative research technologies like CRISPR, or craft arrangements in the space of traditional breeding technologies.
• In addition, our tech-savvy attorneys with broad experience in IT, telecoms, or data science help Food & Ag companies conquer new grounds, as they embrace new technologies like data and software, robotics, and the IoT in an effort to increase efficiencies across the Food & Ag industry.

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