Life Sciences

The challenges facing the life sciences industry are increasing — long product development timelines, increased regulatory hurdles, pricing pressure, industry consolidation, access to capital…the list goes on. To build value and sustain the life of your enterprise, you need life sciences counsel with the industry knowledge and legal experience to help you execute sound business strategies, minimize risks, and take advantage of opportunities.

Since the birth of the life sciences industry in the 1970s, we have provided companies with the experience, resources, and insights to help them meet their goals. Today, we work with clients globally, including companies of every size — from start-ups with little more than an idea to large public companies with products on the market, venture capital firms and investment banks, and research organizations and institutions.

Quick Facts


  • 30+ years in the life sciences industry
  • One of the largest intellectual property and corporate practices in the United States specializing in the Life Sciences industry
  • Specialize in IPOs for companies developing ground-breaking technologies, including the first biotech IPO
  • Ranked for Biotechnology Law nationally in U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers
  • Industry practitioners consistently ranked in Life Sciences by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business

Areas of Focus

Compliance and regulation

  • Compliance planning
  • FDA regulatory
  • Health care fraud and abuse
  • Reimbursement

Corporate


Intellectual property


Sort by: Name  Title  Office

Priya K. Agrawal

Priya K. Agrawal

Associate

212.692.6708

212.692.6866

617.348.1824

Shovon Ashraf

Shovon Ashraf

Technology Specialist

617.348.4964

Avisheh Avini

Avisheh Avini

Associate

212.692.6200

Christine M. Baker

Christine M. Baker

Of Counsel

212.692.6236

David Barmak

David Barmak

Member

202.585.3507

617.348.1887

Eoin P. Beirne

Eoin P. Beirne

Associate

617.348.1707

617.348.1784

Emma Bevan

Emma Bevan

Member

+44.20.7776.7379

617.348.4472

212.692.6869

212.692.6784

617.348.3073

617.348.1614

617.348.1613

617.348.3097

617.348.1705

617.348.3018

Jessica W. Catlow

Jessica W. Catlow

Associate

212.692.6843

617.348.1840

Chen Chen, PhD

Chen Chen, PhD

Technology Specialist

617.348.3009

617.348.1742

Barbara Chin

Barbara Chin

Associate

617.348.4405

Victoria Clarke

Victoria Clarke

Associate

+44.20.7776.7372

William L. Coffman

William L. Coffman

Of Counsel

617.348.1890

617.348.4468

Stephen P. Cole

Stephen P. Cole

Associate

617.348.1605

Hannah C. Coman

Hannah C. Coman

Associate

617.348.1703

John P. Condon

John P. Condon

Associate

617.348.4453

James Conley

James Conley

Member

858.314.1514

Julian Crump

Julian Crump

Member

+44.20.7776.7302

212.692.6217

617.348.1670

212.692.6703

617.348.1797

Rebecca Diamond

Rebecca Diamond

Associate

617.348.1878

212.692.6853

Brian P. Dunphy

Brian P. Dunphy

Associate

617.348.1810

Matthew D. Durell

Matthew D. Durell

Associate

617.348.1615

617.348.1741

212.692.6230

Eric J. Eastham

Eric J. Eastham

Associate

858.314.1877

617.348.1635

C. Quincy Ewell

C. Quincy Ewell

Associate

202.434.7349

617.348.3003

Isobel Finnie

Isobel Finnie

Member

+44.20.7776.7318

617.348.4474

+44.20.7776.7330

617.348.4443

617.348.1834

Merav Gershtenman

Merav Gershtenman

Associate

212.692.6806

212.692.6247

John Giust

John Giust

Member

858.314.1572

Arun K. Goel

Arun K. Goel

Associate

858.314.1582

617.348.1623

617.348.1886

+44.20.7776.7351

617.348.1651

Douglas Hauer

Douglas Hauer

Member

617.348.3044

617.348.1654

Kanasha S. Herbert

Kanasha S. Herbert

Associate

617.348.3015

858.314.1518

Sarah T. Hogan

Sarah T. Hogan

Associate

617.348.1883

212.692.6803

617.348.1813

617.348.1706

617.348.4939

+44.20.7776.7311

617.348.1715

617.348.1618

617.348.3093

Crystal L. Kellas, PhD

Crystal L. Kellas, PhD

Technology Specialist

617.348.4973

617.239.8491

Annie J. King, PhD

Annie J. King, PhD

Technology Specialist

617.348.4494

Maryanne Kline

Maryanne Kline

Associate

617.239.8498

212.692.6768

617.348.1638

John B. Koss

John B. Koss

Associate

617.348.1641

617.348.1674

858.314.1525

Wynter N. Lavier

Wynter N. Lavier

Associate

617.348.4712

617.348.4780

617.348.4832

617.348.3032

617.348.1682

Sarah A. Lowe

Sarah A. Lowe

Associate

212.692.6204

858.314.1519

Warren W. Ma

Warren W. Ma

Associate

858.314.1587

Boris A. Matvenko

Boris A. Matvenko

Of Counsel

212.692.6858

617.348.1683

617.348.4402

212.692.6794

Jessica D. Mendoza

Jessica D. Mendoza

Associate

415.432.6085

617.348.4774

617.348.1694

Linyu L. Mitra, PhD

Linyu L. Mitra, PhD

Technology Specialist

617.348.3006

Tavis J. Morello

Tavis J. Morello

Associate

617.348.4464

617.348.1620

Lian Ouyang, PhD

Lian Ouyang, PhD

Associate

617.348.1712

212.692.6774

617.348.4707

Maura M. Pelham

Maura M. Pelham

Contract Attorney

617.348.1851

212.692.6859

212.692.6838

Linda Rockett

Linda Rockett

Member

617.348.4888

Miles Roeder

Miles Roeder

Associate

617.348.3017

Jake Romero

Jake Romero

Associate

858.314.1584

John T. Rudy

John T. Rudy

Associate

617.348.3050

858.314.1873

212.692.6804

617.348.1798

617.348.1725

Dawn Saunders

Dawn Saunders

Member

858.314.1875

Jack C. Schecter

Jack C. Schecter

Of Counsel

617.348.3083

Natalie K. Schiller, PhD

Natalie K. Schiller, PhD

Senior Patent Agent

858.314.1547

617.348.1764

212.692.6732

Daniel Sellwood

Daniel Sellwood

Technical Assistant

+44.20.7776.7338

Jessica C. Sergi

Jessica C. Sergi

Associate

617.348.1766

Bram Shapiro

Bram Shapiro

Member

617.348.1610

Farrah Short

Farrah Short

Associate

202.585.3518

617.348.3039

858.314.1506

212.692.6704

Christina K. Stock

Christina K. Stock

Of Counsel

617.348.1817

Sahir Surmeli

Sahir Surmeli

Member

617.348.3013

617.348.1820

617.348.3035

Tali M. Tuchin

Tali M. Tuchin

Of Counsel

858.314.1558

Jonathan Urbon

Jonathan Urbon

Associate

617.348.1844

Adam M. Veness

Adam M. Veness

Associate

617.348.4432

617.348.1677

Mary E. Walsh

Mary E. Walsh

Associate

617.348.1717

617.348.1757

617.348.1869

617.348.1759

Garrett M. Winslow

Garrett M. Winslow

Associate

617.348.3028

Monique Winters

Monique Winters

Patent Agent

858.314.1542

Martha J. Zackin

Martha J. Zackin

Of Counsel

617.348.4415

Dean G. Zioze

Dean G. Zioze

Member

617.348.4795

Antitrust

  • Served as antitrust counsel for a leading provider of sample and assay technologies, and are currently involved in counseling and representing the company in merger and acquisition activities.

Corporate & Securities: Joint Ventures, Strategic Alliances, Collaborations & Technology Transfer

  • Represented Inhibrx LLC in its June 2012 Option and License Agreement with Celgene Corporation.
  • Represented GreatPoint Energy, Inc. in its March 2012 $400 million Series D financing led by China Wanxiang Holding Co. Ltd.
  • Represented Angiochem, Inc. in its February 2012 collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
  • Represented Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. in its December 2011 strategic alliance with Quintiles.
  • Represented ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL) in the November 2011 execution of a license agreement with Daiichi Sankyo, Co. Ltd.
  • Represented BeiGene, LLC on the exclusive in-licensing and co-development agreements of October 2011 with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and CNA Development, LLC, divisions of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

Corporate & Securities: Mergers & Acquisitions

  • Represented Boston Biomedical, Inc. (BBI) in its sale to Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (DSP) for up to $2.63 billion in total, which included $200 million upfront, up to $540 million in development milestone payments, and up to $1.89 billion in sales milestone payments.
  • Represented Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. in its $600 million sale to Perkin Elmer, Inc.
  • Represented Ion Torrent Systems, Inc. in its $725 million sale to Life Technologies Corporation.
  • Represented QIAGEN NV in its $1.6 billion acquisition of Digene Corporation, including antitrust aspects of the transaction.
  • Represented the exclusive financial advisor to Diagnostic Products Corporation in its $1.8 billion acquisition by Siemens Medical Solutions.
  • Represented Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its $400 million acquisition of ViroChem Pharma, Inc.
  • Represented China-based BioDuro, LLC in its $77 million acquisition by Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc.

Corporate & Securities: Securities

  • Served as underwriters’ counsel to Leerink Swann in the $23.7 million underwritten public offering in January 2012 by Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHTP).
  • Represented GI Dynamics, Inc. (ASX: GID) in the filing of its Australian IPO and contemporaneous US private placement, which raised a combined $85 million in September 2011.
  • Served as placement agent counsel to Leerink Swann in the $55 million private placement in September 2011 by Puma Biotechnology.
  • Represented BofA Merrill Lynch and Leerink Swann as underwriters’ counsel in a $65 million shelf offering for Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) in June 2011.
  • Represented ImmunoGen Inc., (NASDAQ: IMGN) in its $93.6 million follow-on underwritten public offering in May 2011. Jefferies & Company Inc. acted as the sole book-running manager for the offering and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., RBC Capital Markets LLC, William Blair & Company LLC, Canaccord Genuity Inc., and Morgan Joseph TriArtisan LLC acted as co-managers for the offering.
  • Represented Rosetta Genomics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSG) in its concurrent PIPE / registered direct offering in February 2011. Rodman & Renshaw acted as the exclusive placement agent for both offerings.
  • Represented ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) in its $258 million public offering in December 2011. JPMorgan, Cowen and Company, and Jefferies served as underwriters.

Employment, Labor & Benefits

  • Counseled a public international life sciences company on company-wide and department-wide reorganization, ensuring compliance with state and federal wage / hour laws, the federal WARN Act and state analogs, and state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
  • Counseled a public international life sciences company on employment agreements and compensation packages for senior executives and senior management teams.

Health Law

  • Drafted and negotiated IT vendor agreements necessary to help a late-stage biotech company prepare for commercial operations in anticipation of the launch of its first drug, including cloud services agreements, a master agreement to build and implement an IVRS / IWRS system to support clinical trials, a master agreement to implement and provide an enterprise-wide expense report system, a sales force automation service for the company’s commercial drug team, a data management / storage services agreement, and a master services agreement to implement and provide a data management solution to support various departments.
  • Developed a multistate HIPAA and Red Flags privacy compliance infrastructure for a US-based biosciences company specializing in the development and commercialization of clinically validated molecular diagnostics and anatomic pathology services.

Litigation

  • Obtained over a million-dollar verdict on behalf of AstraZeneca against its former CEO for fraud, conversion, and breach of fiduciary duty. While defeating the CEO’s claims for defamation, we obtained a favorable appellate decision before the Supreme Judicial Court, which has now resulted in an $18 million judgment in favor of AstraZeneca. This has been recognized by former Chief Justice Margaret Marshall as one of her “notable decisions” under the category of free speech.
  • Advised a medical device manufacturer on a federal investigation into potential trade-based money laundering and black market peso transactions by Colombian distributor.
  • Decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to reverse the decision of the trial court resulting in our client, a pharmaceutical company, recovering nearly $7 million in compensation and bonuses from a disloyal former CEO.
  • Defended a dental product manufacturer in a products liability action involving the alleged failure of its products and resulting injuries. Obtained defense verdict after trial on the merits.
  • Developed a comprehensive document collection plan and thereunder reviewed and produced more than 1 million documents relating to a dispute regarding a pharmaceutical commercialization and marketing collaboration agreement between two life sciences companies using a combination of document review and Mintz Levin attorneys.
  • Implemented a litigation hold and document collection protocol for a diagnostic developer and manufacturer with no litigation experience or readiness requiring a comprehensive analysis and identification of more than 30 company employees in Europe and the United States as well as the preservation and collection of more than 2 million pages of documents.
  • On behalf of a diagnostics service provider, successfully negotiated a favorable settlement agreement for a wage and hour class action filed on behalf of pickup and delivery drivers who alleged failure to pay overtime. Majority of the settlement amount was funded by joint defendants based on the client’s position that it was not the principle employer of the putative class members.
  • Represented a biotech company and the company’s directors in two shareholders derivative cases (filed in New Jersey and the Delaware Court of Chancery) alleging breach of fiduciary duty and a federal class action alleging breach of fiduciary duty and violation of Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 arising out of a pending acquisition of the company. Once our client announced the transaction, plaintiffs sued seeking to enjoin the transaction. We opposed the preliminary injunction in Delaware and won at both the trial and appellate levels. We successfully moved to stay the New Jersey state action. The New Jersey federal plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his complaint after receipt of our motion to dismiss papers.
  • Represented a pharmaceutical company in a claim brought by a woman who alleged that she suffered a rare syndrome as a result of her use of an oral contraceptive. A summary judgment issued in the company’s favor by the district court was subsequently affirmed by first circuit in a precedent-setting case regarding scope of “discovery rule” exception to statute of limitations.
  • Represented a pharmaceutical company in wrongful death and personal injury actions involving participants in phase III clinical trials.
  • Serve as national counsel to a large biopharmaceutical company, representing it in many states in cases involving several complex biologic drug products.
  • Currently serve as national e-discovery counsel for a leading biotechnology company building a litigation document database and coordinating discovery efforts in more than 15 state, federal, and international jurisdictions.
  • Successfully defended a life sciences company in a lawsuit brought by a woman who suffered a serious infection allegedly caused by her use of an allegedly contaminated injectable drug, a case involving an unusual manufacturing defect claim.
  • Won a jury verdict defending a global public biotechnology company in a $68 million securities fraud class action suit. In the pretrial phase, Mintz Levin obtained dismissal of the majority of the plaintiffs’ claims. After an eight-day trial, the jury needed just three hours to reach a verdict completely absolving both the company and its chairman of any wrongdoing. The National Law Journal featured the victory as one of the top defense verdicts in the country.
  • Represented a creditors committee and liquidating trustee in the Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, including the investigation, litigation, and asset recovery issues.

Real Estate

  • Representation of a major manufacturer in its acquisition of a 90-acre site in Devens, Massachusetts, for the development of a $1.1 billion, state-of-the-art biologic manufacturing facility.
  • Represent Biogen (now Biogen Idec) in connection with its development of a 150,000-square-foot R&D facility and the lease of additional research, development, and office facilities at its Cambridge Center campus.
  • Represent Elan Pharmaceuticals in connection with the purchase, development, and subsequent sale / leaseback of its San Diego headquarters, and its build-to-suit lease and joint venture construction of new facilities totaling over 200,000 square feet in South San Francisco, CA.
  • Represent Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company), in connection with a build-to-suit lease of a 250,000-square-foot R&D and office facility in Cambridge, MA.
  • Represent CareFusion and its affiliates in connection with the purchase and development of corporate headquarters and multiple manufacturing facilities in California, North Carolina, and Mexico.

Tax

  • Assisted the owners of a biotechnology company on the design and implementation of a tax-compliant bonus plan for its key executives in connection with a sale of the company to a strategic buyer and assisted the executives in obtaining the owners’ consent to the payments to avoid the golden parachute excise tax.

Venture Capital & Emerging Companies

  • Represented AccuVein, Inc. in its July 2012 $7.1 million financing led by MVM Life Sciences Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, Tullis, and Lynch Foundation.
  • Represented Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc. in its March 2012 $28 million Series B financing led by Foresite Capital, Novo A/S, MVM Life Sciences Fund, and Quaker Partners.
  • Represented Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its August 2012 $30 million Series C financing led by OrbiMed Advisors and Genextra.
  • Represented Sera Prognostics, Inc. in its November 2011 $19.3 million Series A financing led by Interwest Partners, Domain Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures, Osage University Partners, and UpStart Life Sciences Capital.

Therapeutic

  • Aggamin Pharmaceuticals, LLC
  • AngioChem, Inc.
  • ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • ArQule, Inc.
  • AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • BeiGene Ltd.
  • Biogen Idec
  • Boston Biomedical, Inc. (acquired by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.)
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
  • Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.
  • Compugen Ltd.
  • Cureveda, LLC
  • Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Elan Corporation, plc
  • Evotec AG
  • Gamida Cell
  • Hemera Biosciences Inc.
  • ImmunoGen, Inc.
  • Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.
  • Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Lotus Tissue Repair, Inc. (acquired by Shire)
  • Mast Therapeutics, Inc.
  • Mimetogen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Neurimmune Therapeutics AG
  • NovImmune SA
  • OXiGENE, Inc.
  • Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Prosidion Ltd.
  • Retroscreen Virology
  • Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • SkyePharma PLC
  • Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp.
  • Targacept, Inc.
  • Tarsa Therapeutics, Inc.
  • Teva
  • Veloxis Pharmaceuticals Inc.
  • Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
  • XenoPort, Inc.

Diagnostic

  • Exosome
  • Interleukin Genetics, Inc.
  • Lumicell Diagnostics, Inc.
  • Allegro Diagnostics, Inc.
  • BG Medicine, Inc.
  • Caris Life Sciences, Ltd.
  • Miraca Life Sciences, Inc.
  • Myriad Genetics, Inc.
  • Nanobiosym Diagnostics, Inc
  • Pathway Genomics Corporation
  • Rosetta Genomics Ltd.

Tools & Instrumentation

  • AdvanDx, Inc.
  • Life Technologies Corporation
  • QIAGEN N.V.
  • Roche

Medical Device

  • AccuVein Inc.
  • Adlens Ltd.
  • Alphatec Holdings, Inc.
  • Amedica Corporation
  • Beacon Endoscopic
  • BioHorizons
  • CareFusion Corporation
  • CRISI Medical Systems, Inc.
  • Dräger
  • ForSight Labs
  • GenMark Diagnostics, Inc.
  • GI Dynamics, Inc.
  • Home Dialysis Plus, Inc.
  • iCAD, Inc.
  • Lumos Catheter Systems
  • Medingo
  • NeuroMetrix, Inc.
  • NuVasive, Inc.
  • Pluromed, Inc. (acquired by Sanofi-Aventis)
  • Roche
  • Solx, Inc.
  • Spiracur Inc.
  • Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc.
  • Transcend Medical, Inc.

Upcoming

Past