Fenwick Represents Second Genome in a Strategic Microbiome Collaboration with Gilead

Fenwick & West represented Second Genome, a leading biotechnology startup that provides microbial profiling services designed to improve health, in its strategic collaboration and license agreement with Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), to identify biomarkers associated with clinical response in up to five of Gilead’s pipeline compounds in inflammation, fibrosis and other diseases, and to identify potential new targets and drug candidates for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Second Genome will leverage its proprietary Microbiome Analytics Platform to identify biomarkers and will combine additional discovery and development tools to identify targets and candidates for IBD.

Under the terms of the agreement, Second Genome will receive $38 million in an upfront payment and up to approximately $300 million in milestones for each of the five programs and success-based milestones for each validated biomarker. Gilead will have the option to worldwide rights for up to five programs for all diseases as well as exclusive rights to all biomarkers developed under the collaboration. More information about Second Genome’s collaboration with Gilead can be obtained from the company announcement.

The Fenwick transaction team was led by life sciences transactions partner Stefano Quintini with support from licensing lawyer Amy Manning.