Ropes & Gray partners Megan Baca, Ray Grant, and Geoffrey Lin are co-hosting a webinar with the California Life Sciences organization on December 7th.
Asia has become a key source of life sciences innovation. China accounted for one third of large pharma collaboration transactions in 2025. Average upfront payments for Western–Chinese licensing deals grew 230% between 2022 and early 2026. Licensing deal value in South Korea is also on track for another record year. Over the same period, U.S. drug pricing reform and new national security rules have changed how cross-border deals are negotiated, structured, and diligenced.
In this webinar, Ropes & Gray partners Megan Baca, Geoffrey Lin, and Ray Grant will cover:
- Market overview: deal volume and values in China, South Korea, and Japan, and what is driving growth.
- Transaction structures: conventional licensing, NewCo platforms, M&A, and minority equity investments, with recent examples.
- In-licensing from China: key negotiating points, including territory, bankruptcy protection, diligence obligations, governance, supply, withholding tax, patent prosecution, and termination rights.
- MFN and reference pricing: CMS's GLOBE and GUARD models and the implications of Japan pricing for MFN and reference pricing provisions in license agreements.
- NewCos: Introduction to NewCo structure and how it is being deployed in Asia life sciences deal making.
Attendees will come away with practical guidance for structuring life sciences deals heading into 2027.
Date: Monday, December 7, 2026, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PST
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