Yuval Horn, Chair of the Life Science and Technology practice, took part in the International Bar Association 11th World Life Sciences Conference in Boston. At the conference, he moderated, with Elysangela Rabelo, the panel about “Trends in life sciences M&A, investment, and strategic collaborations” with David McIntosh of Ropes & Gray LLP, Michael Labson of Covington & Burling LLP, Jimmy Zhuang of Novo Nordisk; Janet Raimondo of Novartis and Byron Kalogerou of McDermott Will & Emery.
Five takeaways:
– The drafting of milestones and earn outs is converging. Mergers are increasingly using licensing terminology. We are using the traditional building blocks in changing structures in order to adapt.
– Uncertainty on pricing is driving milestone based payments, options to license and even tech evaluation agreements. Contingent value rights increasing.
– Regulatory scrutiny is changing, with AI driving more complex structures.
– Therapeutics should be chosen properly due to the changing climate. Biosimilar remain bi partisan.
– Increasing interest in China and Europe driven licensing and collaboration deals.
