Kit Chellel
Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has sewn up a raft of UK life sciences deals, winning a place on six transactions in the past month.
Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) has sewn up a raft of UK life sciences deals, winning a place on six transactions in the past month.
The firm was instructed by the owners of biotech company Piramed on its $185m (£94.65m) sale to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche.
The cancer treatment company had been in the hands of the Merlin Biosciences and JPMorgan Partners venture capital funds for the past five years, with the management team retaining a small stake.
MoFo's team was headed by London corporate partner Paul Claydon, supported by tax partner Trevor James and antitrust partner Rony Gerrits in Brussels.
The firm has previously carried out commercial IP and fundraising work for the company, but this is the first major corporate transaction.
Roche, which turned to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate partner Julian Long, agreed to pay $160m?(£81.86m)?in cash for Piramed, followed by?further?payments of up to $25m (£12.79m).
In the past month alone MoFo has acted for listed pharma company Plethora Solutions Holdings on a financing?agreement; shareholders at UK-based Hunter-Fleming on its sale to Newron Pharmaceuticals; AIM-listed Maelor in its acquisition of Swiss company Speciality European Pharma International; and CeNeS Pharmaceuticals on its proposed sale to Paion.
Also in April the firm received an instruction from vaccine developer Acambis on a £43m market fundraising.
