
Cynthia T. Mazareas
Partner
Cynthia Mazareas brings more than 25 years of experience and a passion for medical and scientific innovation to her role as a trusted adviser to companies in the life sciences industry. She provides ongoing, strategic business counsel to boards, management teams and in-house counsel, representing high-growth private and public companies in corporate matters, complex business transactions, including public offerings and venture capital financings, and corporate governance, SEC, stock exchange and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Ms. Mazareas is named in Best Lawyers in America for biotechnology and life sciences, has been named a Life Sciences Star by LMG Life Sciences and was recommended for The Legal 500 United States for capital markets: equity offerings – advice to issuers.
Ms. Mazareas has counseled a range of public life sciences companies throughout all stages of growth, including Agios Pharmaceuticals, AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Beam Therapeutics, Cue Biopharma, Curis, IMARA, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Schrödinger, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Translate Bio and Xilio Therapeutics. Her emerging growth private company clients include Auron Therapeutics and Volastra Therapeutics.
Clients rely on her combination of industry knowledge, legal experience and business acumen. One told Best Lawyers that she gives “great practical advice.” Another told Chambers and Partners, “I think very highly of Cynthia Mazareas, in life sciences in particular. She’s someone who truly does live the life of her clients. She’s been doing this for a long time and she understands a great deal of the challenges that smaller companies face and is very adept at trying to help folks work through the types of challenges encountered by those companies.”
Ms. Mazareas’ involvement with the biopharmaceutical industry predates her legal career: she began her professional life in healthcare, a background that gives her insight into the real-world concerns that shape the landscape for such companies.
Community Involvement
Ms. Mazareas’ engagement with the life sciences industry extends to her community involvement. She serves on the Board of Directors for Life Science Cares, a nonprofit organization that brings together companies in the life sciences industry to eliminate the impact of poverty in the greater Boston area, and chairs the organization’s Nominating and Governance Committee. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of Prize4Life, a nonprofit that works to find treatments and cures for ALS. She and her husband received the Courage Award from Prize4Life in 2014.
Ms. Mazareas has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Shore Country Day School and as chair of its Diversity Committee and a member of its Committee on Trustees.
Professional Activities
Ms. Mazareas is an author and frequent speaker on corporate transactions, governance and other matters relating to life sciences and biotechnology companies.
Ms. Mazareas is a member of the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals and serves on the advisory committee of the Eastern New England Chapter. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
She is a member of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Boston Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Black Women Attorneys Bar Association. She also plays an active role at WilmerHale as a member of the firm's Women's Leadership Initiative, and Hiring Committee.
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Cynthia Mazareas Named Among the 2021 Best Lawyers in America®
Cynthia Mazareas is recognized by her peers as an outstanding lawyer in the areas of biotechnology and life sciences.
August 26, 2020Read More -
LMG Life Sciences Recognizes Cynthia Mazareas as US Rising Transactional Star
In its annual recognition of top law firms, lawyers and in-house counsel in the life sciences industry, LMG Life Sciences named Cynthia Mazareas to its 2017 award shortlist.
July 20, 2017Read More -
Cynthia Mazareas Joins Life Science Cares Board
Cynthia Mazareas joined the board of directors of Life Science Cares, an organization seeking to eliminate the impact of poverty in the greater Boston-area through collective effort.
June 6, 2018Read More
Experience
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OVERVIEW
- Represents a wide range of privately held life science companies in formation, early-stage, bridge, mezzanine and cross-over venture capital transactions
- Represents a wide range of publicly traded life science companies in IPOs and underwritten follow-on offerings, as well as in the establishment of "at-the-market" sales arrangements, PIPEs, registered direct offerings and strategic equity transactions
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KEY REPRESENTATIONS
- Agios Pharmaceuticals in its initial public offering, side-by-side strategic private placements and numerous subsequent follow-on offerings for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $1.75 billion
- Schrödinger in its initial public offering and subsequent follow-on public offering for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $579 million, along with its prior Series E financing round led by WuXi AppTec and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $110 million
- Beam Therapeutics in its $500 million at-the-market offering
- Xilio Therapeutics in its initial public offering with aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $130 million, and its prior Series C cross-over financing for proceeds of approximately $95 million
- Translate Bio in its initial public offering and subsequent PIPE and follow-on offerings, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $376 million, and a $125 million strategic equity investment by collaborator Sanofi
- Syros Pharmaceuticals in its initial public offering and subsequent PIPEs, follow-on offerings and side-by-side strategic private placements for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $373 million
- Infinity Pharmaceuticals in public offerings with aggregate proceeds of $172 million, its reverse merger/going public transaction, its royalty sale, its strategic equity transactions with Purdue Pharma, and Purdue Pharma's subsequent $450 million secondary underwritten public offering
- Curis in several financings, including recent follow-on public and registered direct offerings for aggregate proceeds of $450 million, as well as successive royalty financings to leverage an approved product
- IMARA in its $86.5 million initial public offering, and subsequent $50 million follow-on public offering
- Achillion Pharmaceuticals in its $225 million strategic equity investment by Johnson & Johnson Innovation-JJDC, Inc., JJDC's subsequent secondary underwritten public offering, and Achillion's registered direct offering with a privately-owned hedge fund sponsor
- Arsanis in its $46.0 million initial public offering and subsequent merger with X4 Pharmaceuticals
- Tvardi Therapeutics in its $74 million Series B financing, and its $9 million Series A financing
- Volastra Therapeutics in its $44 million Series Seed financing and $60 million Series A financing
- Auron Therapeutics in its $15.4 million Series Seed financing
- AVEO Oncology in its sale to LG Chem for approximately $566 million
Recognition
- Named a 2021 Top Women of Law Honoree by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
- Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2019–2024 editions of the Best Lawyers in America for biotechnology and life sciences.
- Named a 2022, 2021 & 2020 Life Sciences Star and to the 2017 awards shortlist for US Rising Transactional Star by LMG Life Sciences.
- Named to Boston Magazine’s inaugural Top Lawyers list in 2021 and 2022 in the area of corporate law.
- Recommended in the 2019 edition of The Legal 500 United States in the category of capital markets: equity offerings - advice to issuers.
- Recognized by the Chambers USA Guide for her capital markets practice.
Insights & News
Credentials
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Education
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JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 1993
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BS, Boston University, 1985
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Admissions
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Massachusetts
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Credentials
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Education
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JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 1993
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BS, Boston University, 1985
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Admissions
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Massachusetts
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