Fenwick attorneys have deep ties to some of the most active life sciences investors, and we employ a systemized approach to introducing our clients to these investors based upon the company’s technology, stage of development and goals for growth.

Beyond delivering the high-quality legal services that every life sciences enterprise requires to flourish, Fenwick attorneys build lasting relationships with their clients by committing to act as partners in the business, helping to develop strategies and promoting communication, transparency and trust.

Why Life Sciences Companies Choose Fenwick

We Understand the Business and Science Behind Our Clients
Many of our practitioners have prior careers working in-house as researchers or executives, enabling them to predict and effectively respond to the nuances of the technical and legal issues that companies in this industry face.

We Are Proactive and Innovative– As Attorneys and Business Partners
As trusted legal advisors, we take on the responsibility of trying to predict what our clients will likely face in their future, and we advise our clients accordingly. Our attorneys are active in the business community, serving on committees of the SEC and some of the nation’s top research institutions. Within the legal industry, Fenwick spear-headed the move towards offering clients alternative fee arrangements, and the firm earned significant recognition in the media for its flat fee agreement with Cisco Systems, which was an emerging concept at the time. We understand the financial constraints new and established businesses face, which is why we offer a menu of alternative fee arrangements as well as initial client meetings, at no charge, to learn about the client’s history, technology and services, establish team roles, determine communication preferences and confirm reporting and billing requirements. We continue with ongoing meetings, at no charge, to ensure we are current with the client’s business strategy and goals and that we continue to meet management’s needs and expectations. We are proactive in bringing business opportunities to our clients that will enhance their profiles, whether it be through institutional funding recommendations, media outreach or award nominations.

We Have a Stake in the Success of Life Sciences and Our Clients' Positions in this Industry
As the law firm chosen to incorporate Apple in 1977 and advise SonoSite on its $995 million sale to FujiFilm in 2012, Fenwick is humbled by the success its clients have had and the ways in which their technologies have impacted the world. As they have in different stages and in different times throughout history, science and technology are converging in a way that will forever change the way individuals manage their personal health, and Fenwick attorneys are poised to guide these cutting edge healthcare companies through the maze created by the complex legal issues they face. The firm’s expertise in the software, hardware, communications and Internet sectors combined with its experience in the healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and bioinformatics sectors equip its team members with the knowledge necessary to effectively advise these new-age life sciences companies. Many of our attorneys serve on the Boards of Directors of leading West Coast industry organizations, such as BayBio and the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association. The Life Sciences Group members also teach courses on corporate and patent law at local universities to students on both legal and scientific paths. In addition, Fenwick offers and encourages its attorneys and staff to participate in training to advance their own scientific knowledge and understanding of trends and shifts in the industry.

The Fenwick & West Life Sciences Group members are a team, motivated by each other and the work that we are doing to help our cutting edge clients reach their fullest potential.

Representative Clients

A representative sample of our past and current clients includes:

Therapeutics
Currently represent over 80 therapeutics companies, including:AC Immune
Acucela, Inc.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Halozyme Therapeutics
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ViroPharma Incorporated

Diagnostics
Currently represent over 40 companies specializing in diagnostics, including:
CardioDx, Inc.
Cepheid
diaDexus, Inc.
Natus Medical
OncoHealth Corporation
ZyGEM Corporation

Medical Devices
Currently represent over 60 medical device companies, including:
Ambu
Cardiac Dimensions, Inc.
DexCom, Inc.
ForteBio, Inc.
SonoSite, Inc.
The Cooper Companies
WoodWelding SA

Digital Health
Currently represent over 45 digital health companies, including:
California Regional Health Information Organization
Castlight Health
HealthTap
goBalto
Medem, Inc.
PolyRemedy, Inc.
Sano Intelligence

Industrial Biotech
Currently represent 15 industrial biotechnology companies, including:
Amyris, Inc.
Bio Architecture Labs
Genencor International
Joule Technologies, Inc.
Mendel Biotechnology
Novozymes North America

Academic & Research
Currently represent over 30 academic and research institutions on their life sciences matters, including:
Emory University
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Oregon Health & Sciences University
The Scripps Research Institute
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University

Bioinformatics
Currently represent over 15 companies specializing in bioinformatics, including:
Complete Genomics
DNAnexus, Inc.
Hecht-Nielsen Confabulation, Inc.
Lightspeed Genomics
Primity Bio, Inc.
Simprota Corporation

Investors
Currently advise over 20 investment funds on life sciences matters, including:
California Technology Ventures
Clarus Ventures
Mohr Davidow
New Enterprise Associates
Xseed Capital

Private/VC Backed
Currently represent 70+ VC-backed life sciences clients (and more than 400 venture capital and private equity-backed private companies across all industries), including:
Acucela, Inc.
Broncus Technologies, Inc.
Cardiac Dimensions, Inc.
Cast Light Health, Inc.
Corium International, Inc.
ForteBio, Inc.
Mendel Biotechnology

1934 Act Reporting
Currently represent over 10 companies as outside securities counsel, including:
Amyris, Inc.
Complete Genomics
DexCom, Inc.
Natus Medical, Inc.
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Solta Medical, Inc.

M&A
Currently advise over 20 life sciences companies with mergers and acquisitions matters, including
Cepheid
MEDSEEK
Natus Medical, Inc.
Solta Medical, Inc.
SonoSite, Inc.
Teikoku Pharma USA

Patent
Currently represent over 130 life sciences patent clients, including:
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
APT Pharmaceuticals
CadioDx, Inc.
ForteBio, Inc.
Maxygen
Presidio Pharmaceuticals

Licensing
Currently advise over 50 life sciences companies with their licensing needs, including:
AC Immune
DexCom, Inc.
Halozyme Therapeutics
Mymetics
Medicity, Inc.
Natus Medical, Inc.
Oncothyreon

Trademark
Currently advise over 40 life sciences companies with their trademark needs, including:
Biosensors International
Cepheid
Conceptus, Inc.
McKesson Corp.
Reviva Pharmaceuticals
Sano Intelligence

IP Litigation
Currently represent over 25 life sciences companies on IP litigation matters, including:
Ambu
Cepheid
Columbia University
DexCom, Inc.
Golden Gate Public Health Partnership
Novozymes A/S
PIKAMAB

Tax
Currently advise over 30 life sciences companies on tax matters, including:
Abbott Laboratories
Carestream Health
Endo Pharmaceuticals
Sanofi-Aventis US
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International
ViroPharma Incorporated
VSP Global

Representative Transactions

Represented Natus Medical in its $58M acquisition of CareFusion Nicolet 

Represented Solta Medical in its $15M public offering

Represented MEDSEEK in its acquisition by Silver Lake Sumeru and Essex Woodlands

Represented OncoGenex in its $50M public offering

Represented SonoSite in its $995M acquisition by Fujifilm Holdings Corp.

Represented Amnis in its acquisition by EMD Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA

Represented DexCom in its $60M shelf offering

Represented Natus Medical in its $150M shelf offering

Represented Medicity in its $500M acquisition by Aetna

Represented Amyris in its $84.8M initial public offering

Represented Asthmatx in its $443M acquisition by Boston Scientific

Represented ZymoGenetics in its acquisition by Bristol-Meyers Squibb

Represented ZymoGenetics in its $96M confidentially managed public offering

Represented Trubion in its $96M acquisition by Emergent BioSolutions

Represented Axolotl Corporation in its acquisition by Ingenix

Represented SonoSite in its $71M acquisition of Visualsonics

Represented LipoSonix in its $300M acquisition by Medicis Pharmaceutical

Represented Peplin in its $287.5M acquisition by LEO Pharma – the highest price ever paid for a pre-FDA approved company

Represented Connetics Corporation in its $930M acquisition by Stiefel Laboratories

Represented Ocular Sciences in its $1.2B acquisition by The Cooper Companies

Representative Patent Litigation

• Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., Xenogen Corporation, and The Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University v. Carestream Health, Inc. Represented Stanford University in patent infringement litigation involving in vivo molecular imaging. The matter was favorably settled after the claim construction hearing.

• Medlmmune, Inc. v. Centocor, Inc., et al. Acted as lead counsel for patent owners Stanford and Columbia Universities in a patent declaratory judgment action involving a method of manufacturing monoclonal antibodies. The matter was successfully settled following remand to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after appeals to the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court.

• The Laryngeal Mask Company v. Ambu A/S. Represented Ambu, a Denmark-based medical device company, in a patent dispute against its primary competitor over patents directed to laryngeal masks used in surgery. Obtained summary judgments of noninfringement and invalidity of asserted patent. Matter thereafter settled.

• The Regents of University of California v. ev3. Represented The Regents of the University of California in enforcing the original patent portfolio covering the Guglielmi Detachable Coils, used primarily in treating brain aneurysms. The matter settled on the first day of trial, in a manner very favorable to The Regents, after a series of favorable summary judgment rulings on the defenses raised by defendant ev3.

• Novozymes v. Danisco. Lead counsel representing Novozymes in a successful action against rival Danisco for infringement of Novozymes’ patent for an improved alpha-amylase useful for fuel ethanol production, among other industrial applications. A jury found that Danisco willfully infringed Novozymes’ patent and awarded over $18.2 million in damages.

• Cardiac Science v. Philips Electronics. Represented plaintiff as lead counsel in a 21-patent infringement case involving cardiac defibrillators. Damages asserted by each side combined in excess of $200 million. Key victories by Cardiac Science at Markman and summary judgment led to favorable settlement hours before seven-week trial set to begin.

Representative Securities Litigation

• Ongoing counseling to boards and management on disclosure, regulatory and litigation issues for leading life sciences companies such as Cepheid and DexCom.

• Defense of securities class action and SEC investigation of Connetics alleging inadequate disclosure of FDA communications and pre-clinical tests, improper revenue recognition and insider trading.

• Defense of the directors of drugstore.com (including John Doerr, Melinda Gates and Jeff Bezos) in a derivative action based on allegations of misrepresentations and insider trading. The case is currently pending in Washington state court.

• Defense of shareholder litigation challenging the acquisition of Connetics by Stiefel Laboratories.

• Defense of Sunrise Medical in SEC enforcement proceeding, shareholder class actions and derivative litigation

• Represented Special Committee of the Affymetrix Board of Directors in federal and state derivative litigation.