Cynthia Mazareas has more than 30 years of experience in serving as a trusted adviser to companies in the life sciences industry. She applies her deep knowledge to provide strategic business counsel to boards, management teams and in-house counsel, representing high-growth private and public companies in day-to-day corporate matters and helping companies navigate through complex business transactions. Ms. Mazareas is Chambers recognized, 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 numerous public life sciences companies throughout their lifecycle, including Agios Pharmaceuticals, AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Beam Therapeutics, Cue Biopharma, Curis, IMARA, Nuvalent, Schrödinger, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Translate Bio and Xilio Therapeutics. Her emerging growth private company clients include Auron Therapeutics, Mediar 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 is also dedicated to using her skills to provide legal advice to organizations that are doing impactful work in the community.  She represents MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, an organization that aims to fuel the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships for young people and to close the mentoring gap for the one in three young people growing up without this critical support. She also provides advice to Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Boston’s foremost agency providing life-changing services for homeless, runaway and in-risk youth. 

Community Involvement

Ms. Mazareas serves on the Board of Directors for Life Science Cares, a national nonprofit organization that brings together companies in the life sciences industry to eliminate the impact of poverty, and chairs the organization’s Nominating and Governance Committee. She previously held board positions for Prize4Life and Shore Country Day School.

Professional Activities

Ms. Mazareas is an author and frequent speaker on corporate transactions, governance and other matters relating to life sciences and biotechnology companies. Her speaking engagements have included the BIO General Counsels Committee Conference, the Black In-House Counsel Network’s Elevating Black Excellence Regional Summit Series, the Women in the Enterprise of Science and Technology’s Women in Venture panel, and the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference.

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 Compensation Committee, Hiring Committee and Women's Leadership Initiative.

  • 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, 2020
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  • 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, 2017
    Read 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, 2018
    Read More

Experience

  • OVERVIEW

    Ms. Mazareas represents a wide range of privately held life science companies in formation and general corporate matters as well as early-stage, bridge, mezzanine and cross-over venture capital transactions. She also represents a wide range of publicly traded life science companies in SEC compliance, governance and capital raising transactions, including IPOs and underwritten follow-on offerings, and alternative capital raising and strategic equity transactions.
  • FINANCINGS

    • 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
    • Nuvalent, Inc. in its follow-on public offerings with aggregate proceedings of approximately $510 million
    • 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
    • AVEO Oncology in its initial public offering of nearly $90 million, subsequent follow-on public offering, and private placements
    • 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, in its reverse merger/going public transaction, and its royalty sale of an FDA approved product to HealthCare Royalty Partners
    • IMARA in its $86.5 million initial public offering and subsequent $50 million follow-on 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
    • Arsanis in its $46.0 million initial public offering
    • 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 and its $48 million Series A financing
    • Denali Therapeutics in its $217 million Series A financing; and $122.3 million Series B financing
    • Larkspur Biosciences in its $5.5 million Series Seed financing 
    • Asylia Therapeutics, Inc. in its $7.5 million Series A financing
    • BlinkBio Inc. in its $12.17 million Series A financing; and $12 million Series B financing
  • STRATEGIC TRANSACTIONS

    • AVEO Oncology in its sale to LG Chem for approximately $566 million
    • IMARA in its sale of assets to Cardurion Pharmaceuticals and its subsequent merger with Enliven Therapeutics
    • Infinity Pharmaceuticals its strategic equity transactions with Purdue Pharma, and Purdue Pharma's subsequent $450 million secondary underwritten 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 merger with X4 Pharmaceuticals
    • Syros Pharmaceuticals in its acquisition of Tyme Technologies for $60 million

Recognition

  • Recognized by the Chambers USA Guide for her capital markets practice.
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2019–2024 editions of the Best Lawyers in America for biotechnology and life sciences.
  • Named a 20202023 "Life Sciences Star" and to the 2017 awards shortlist for US Rising Transactional Star by LMG Life Sciences.
  • Named to Profiles in Diversity Journal Women Worth Watching in STEM 2023.
  • Named a “Go To Business Transactions Lawyer” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
  • Named to Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers list in 2021–2024 in the area of corporate law.
  • Named a 2021 Top Women of Law Honoree by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
  • Recommended in the 2019 edition of The Legal 500 United States in the category of capital markets: equity offerings - advice to issuers.

Insights & News

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 1993

    • BS, Boston University, 1985

  • Admissions

    • Massachusetts

Credentials

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