Ropes & Gray Represents Johnson & Johnson Unit in Divestiture of Pain Management Drug

Ropes & Gray advised Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, in its definitive agreement to divest its U.S. license rights to the NUCYNTA ® franchise of pharmaceutical products, as well as certain related assets, to Depomed, Inc., for $1.05 billion in an all-cash deal. The NUCYNTA ® franchise includes NUCYNTA ® ER (tapentadol) extended release tablets indicated for the management of pain including neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), NUCYNTA ® (tapentadol), an immediate release version of tapentadol for management of moderate to severe acute pain in adults, and NUCYNTA ® (tapentadol) oral solution, an approved oral form of tapentadol that has not been commercialized. Janssen will retain license rights in Canada, Japan, and a number of other countries outside of the U.S. The deal is expected to close the second quarter of 2015.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by Boston-based life sciences partner Steve Wilcox and included finance partner Stefanie Birkmann (New York); health care partner Eve Brunts (Boston); securities & public companies partner Chris Comeau (Boston); tax partner Eric Elfman (Boston); private equity associate Michael Gilbert (Boston); corporate associates Annie Sipe and Raj Banerjee (both of Boston); and tax & benefits associates Adam Greenwood and Denise Sohn (both of New York).