Ropes & Gray Guides Bioverativ in Acquisition of True North Therapeutics

In The News
May 25, 2017

Ropes & Gray advised global biotechnology leader Bioverativ in its definitive agreement to acquire True North Therapeutics, a privately held, clinical-stage rare disease company for an upfront payment of $400 million, plus assumed cash. True North investors are eligible to receive additional payments of up to $425 million contingent on the achievement of future development, regulatory and sales milestones.

Bioverativ (NASDAQ: BIVV) focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for hemophilia and other rare blood disorders. As part of the acquisition, Bioverativ will obtain worldwide rights to True North’s lead candidate, TNT009, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody in development to treat cold agglutinin disease (CAD). CAD is a rare and chronic hemolytic condition that often leads to severe anemia, requiring numerous transfusions, and can result in life-threatening thrombotic events.

The acquisition, which was announced May 23, is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in mid-2017.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by mergers & acquisitions partner Christopher Comeau and included tax partner David Saltzman, executive compensation & employee benefits partner Renata Ferrari, and securities & public companies senior attorney Matthew Byron.

Read the company announcement