DLA Piper

Trusted advice for business transformation

Strategic transactions in the life sciences industry fuel transformation and innovation. We’re trusted advisors to many of the world’s leading life sciences companies, and we work on more mergers and acquisitions than any other law firm. No matter how complex, we’ll help you maximize business expansion opportunities.

Whether your business is an emerging growth company looking to fund growth and expansion, or an established multinational investing in an acquisition to enhance R&D pipelines, we can provide guidance at every step.

We help clients with thousands of strategic transactions every year, negotiating advantageous terms, designing and implementing creative structures, and tactically executing deals.

Across the life sciences industry, we advise on the full spectrum of transactions that help clients achieve business goals – corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, outsourcing and manufacturing agreements, licensing, R&D, and digital transformation initiatives.

“Our advice is seamless, integrated, and incorporates deep local knowledge.”

We’re recognized in particular for our M&A work. Ranked #1 for global M&A by deal count for 13 years, we've handled 7,500+ transactions valued at more than USD1.4 trillion in total, making us the leader for global M&A.

Our advice is comprehensive, covering all aspects of deals – from licensing IP rights and executing manufacturing agreements to accessing global funding sources and complying with global regulations.

We have offices in 40+ countries, and our lawyers collaborate closely across our broad range of practice groups including Tax, Employment, IP, and Regulatory and Government Affairs. This means our advice is seamless, integrated, and incorporates deep local knowledge. We flag potential hurdles in each country, advise on regulatory nuances, and manage the most demanding due diligence exercises to ensure the success of cross-border transactions.

Awards and recognition

Ranked as the number 1 most active law firm for combined global deal volume in venture capital, private equity and M&A, and recognized as one of the most active legal advisors in the following venture capital sectors: biotech, healthcare devices, healthcare services, commercial services, energy, consumer goods, IT, pharma, media, and software, PitchBook 2022

Experience

In the last three years, we’ve completed over 2,100 venture capital financings totaling more than USD80 billion. Our experience includes advising:

Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICPT) – a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases – on its deal to sublicense to Advanz Pharma the rights to commercialize Ocaliva® (obeticholic acid) outside of the US, and sell certain foreign subsidiaries and rights regarding Intercept’s international operations. The transaction with Advanz – a pharmaceutical company with a strategic focus on specialty and hospital pharmaceuticals in Europe – is valued at up to USD450 million, including USD405 million upfront and an additional USD45 million in contingent payments.
SeaSpine Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: SPNE) – a global medical technology company focusing on surgical solutions – on its USD101 million confidentially-marketed public offering including the exercise of the underwriters’ option. The public offering included 5,175,000 shares of its common stock at a price of USD19.50 per share, including the exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 675,000 shares of common stock, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
Kadmon Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: KDMN) – a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and markets transformative therapies for disease areas of significant unmet medical needs – on its pending USD1.9 billion acquisition by Sanofi (PAR: SAN), a global biopharmaceutical company.
Akoya Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKYA) – a spatial biology company that offers comprehensive single-cell imaging solutions - on its recent initial public offering of 7,567,000 shares of its common stock at a price of USD20 per share, including the exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 987,000 shares of common stock, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
Shape Therapeutics Inc. (ShapeTX) – a biotechnology company developing RNA technologies to shape the future of gene therapy – on the completion of a USD112 million Series B financing round co-led by Decheng Capital and Breton Capital, with participation from Willett Advisors, and continued participation from New Enterprise Associates, and Mission BioCapital.
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXSM) – a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the management of central nervous system (CNS) disorders – on its acquisition of Sunosi, a dual-acting dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, from Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ).
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation – an organization that developed a proprietary immunosequencing platform to read and translate the adaptive immune system at scale and with precision – on the underwritten public offering of USD368 million in shares of common stock by the Company and a selling shareholder, and on its initial public offering (USD300 million).
Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA) – a late-stage biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapies – on its USD603.7 million follow-on public offering of common stock.
Phillip Morris International on the USD16 billion recommended cash offer to acquire Swedish Match. We advised on all key aspects of the transaction, including corporate, regulatory, patent, patent prosecution and ESG issues.
Aphria Inc. on its recently completed reverse takeover of Tilray, Inc for USD8.2 billion. The acquisition creates the leading cannabis-focused CPG company with the largest global geographic footprint in the industry.
Dexcom, Inc. on its proposed acquisition of New Zealand Medical & Scientific Limited (NZMS) and Australasian Medical & Scientific Limited (AMSL), specializing in the supply of medical and scientific technologies across New Zealand and Australia.
General Electric on the sale of its BioPharma business to Danaher for approximately USD21.4 billion, including the setting-up of the acquisition structure and planning of post-acquisition integration.
Linus Health, a Boston-based digital health company, on its acquisition of Kinesis Health Technologies, a leader in physical function assessment for older adults.