Ropes & Gray Represents Sarepta Therapeutics in Roche Partnership for $1.15 Billion Gene Therapy

Ropes & Gray represented Sarepta Therapeutics in a licensing agreement to provide Roche with exclusive rights to launch and commercialize Sarepta’s investigational single treatment gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy outside the United States and options to bring forward certain other Sarepta products for the treatment of DMD. The transaction was announced on Dec. 23 and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

Under the agreement, Sarepta will receive $1.15 billion in an upfront payment and an equity investment; up to $1.7 billion in regulatory and sales milestones; and royalties on net sales. In addition, Roche and Sarepta will equally share certain global development expenses of gene therapy SPR-9001 and other products licensed to Roche. Sarepta retains all rights to SRP-9001 in the United States. Sarepta will continue to be responsible for clinical development and manufacturing of SRP-9001.

The Ropes & Gray team included strategic transactions partners David McIntosh, Chris Comeau and Paul Kinsella (all of Boston), litigation & enforcement partner Ama Adams (Washington, D.C.) litigation & enforcement counsel Deidre Johnson (Boston) and strategic transactions associates Hannah Freeman and Raj Banerjee (both of Boston).