| Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals |
Licensing of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property and the establishment of strategic alliances are critical aspects of the business of many biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. We have expertise in structuring these arrangements as well as in the related areas of material transfer agreements, manufacturing and supply agreements, complex confidentiality agreements and distribution agreements. We frequently represent our venture capital clients in licensing patents from leading universities, such as MIT, Harvard Medical School and its affiliated hospitals, Johns Hopkins, and other academic institutions across the United States and Europe, that serve as the foundation of the business of new biotech companies.
We have built a preeminent capability in the strategic alliance area by combining the skills of our licensing lawyers with key input from our FDA group, biotechnology and pharmaceutical patent specialists, and tax, antitrust and EU competition lawyers. For each of the last nine years, Recombinant Capital has given an award for the best and most innovative practices in drafting and negotiating a biotech-pharma alliance. We represented clients in the deals that won the award in four of these years, including both the biotechnology company and the pharmaceutical company in one of these years, and clients in ten nominated alliances during these years. In 2004, we represented the biotechnology company in three of the five nominees for the award, including:
- Idenix in its $860 million deal with Novartis in the antiviral field
- Eyetech Pharmaceuticals in its $770 million deal with Pfizer (the 2004 winner) involving Eyetech’s Macugen treatment for macular degeneration
- Millennium Pharmaceuticals in its $535 million deal with Ortho Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson company, involving Millennium’s Velcade cancer therapy
More recently, we represented Alnylam in its $700 million collaboration with Novartis for the discovery of therapeutics based on RNAi, Cephalon in its $490 million collaboration with Alkermes for the treatment of alcohol dependence, Idera Pharmaceuticals in its collaboration with Novartis to develop immune modulatory compounds for asthma allergy and AVEO Pharmaceuticals in its alliances with Merck for the discovery of novel cancer drugs.
We have also represented pharmaceutical companies in strategic alliances, including routinely representing Bayer in international joint venture and licensing transactions and representing Wyeth in several alliances with Elan.