BioWorld’s Top 10 Biopharma Deals Include Five Ropes & Gray Matters
BioWorld, the biopharmaceutical news service published by Thomson Reuters, has announced the 10 finalists for its annual “deal of the year” awards – and Ropes & Gray attorneys handled five of the 10 deals. The publication reported that Thomson Reuters analysts reviewed hundreds of transactions before deciding on the 10 finalists, which include five M&A deals and five licensing matters.
Among the finalists were these deals, in which Ropes & Gray:
- Represented Johnson & Johnson on its acquisition of Aragon Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical discovery and development company focused on drugs to treat cancer. Under the terms of the agreement, Johnson & Johnson will make an upfront cash payment of $650 million, plus additional contingent payments of up to $350 million based on reaching predetermined milestones.
- Represented Cubist Pharmaceuticals in its $818 million acquisition of Trius Therapeutics, Inc. Trius brings to Cubist a highly complementary, late-stage antibiotic candidate, tedizolid phosphate (TR-701), as well as several pre-clinical antibiotic programs.
- Provided AstraZeneca IP diligence support in connection with a $420 million exclusive licensing arrangement with Moderna Therapeutics. AstraZeneca and Moderna will be developing and commercializing pioneering messenger RNA therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases.
- Represented Pfizer in its co-exclusive collaboration with Eli Lilly to develop Tanezumab, Pfizer’s human MAb antinerve growth factor for osteoarthritis and pain. Under the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly will pay Pfizer $200 million once the FDA addresses its current hold on the program, $350 million in regulatory milestones and up to $1.23 billion in sales milestones.
Winners will be announced at the Allicense 2014 conference in San Francisco on April 29-30.
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