Fenwick Earns Multiple Wins at the LMG Life Sciences 2026 Americas Awards
Fenwick received top honors at Euromoney’s LMG Life Sciences 2026 Americas Awards, taking home Venture Capital Firm of the Year in recognition of the firm's industry-shaping work guiding innovators across their lifecycles. Effie Toshav was named Venture Capital Attorney of the Year, and Heidi Erlacher was named Patent Strategy Attorney of the Year (Massachusetts).
The awards affirm Fenwick's role advising life-changing companies and transformational deals, like guiding Day One Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DAWN) from startup to its $2.5 billion acquisition by Servier and representing Chai Discovery in Series A-C funding rounds and its AI collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company.
Toshav advised Day One, which is dedicated to developing and commercializing targeted therapies for people of all ages with life-threatening diseases. Fenwick also advised Day One on its acquisition of Mersana, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that Erlacher advises on patent prosecution and strategy.
Chai engineers AI models to discover new molecules. Fenwick recently advised Chai on its $400 million Series C financing at a valuation of $3.8 billion. Fenwick previously represented Chai in its landmark $70 million Series A financing, its $130 million Series B financing, and in several AI licensing and collaboration deals with major pharmaceutical companies.
As Venture Capital Firm of the Year, Fenwick has advised on more than 650 life sciences venture financing transactions totaling more than $25 billion in cumulative value in recent years.
The awards also recognize Fenwick's guidance on IP and litigation matters, including Hatch-Waxman disputes and high-stakes litigation for AnaptysBio, and worldwide patent strategy for VYNE Therapeutics.
Erlacher represents VYNE Therapeutics in the development of a worldwide patent portfolio relating to small molecules targeting immune-inflammatory conditions. Fenwick recently secured significant Chancery Court victories for AnaptysBio in a licensing dispute with Tesaro, a subsidiary of the multinational GSK.
In total, Fenwick was shortlisted in nine categories, including both firmwide and individual recognitions for this work:
Firmwide
- Corporate Firm of the Year
- Venture Capital Firm of the Year
- Patent Strategy Firm of the Year
Individual
- Venture Capital Attorney of the Year — Effie Toshav
- General Patent Litigator of the Year – New York — Robert Counihan
- Hatch-Waxman Litigator of the Year (Branded) — Ryan Johnson
- Patent Strategy Attorney of the Year (Massachusetts) — Heidi Erlacher
- Women Patent Attorney of the Year (United States) — Heidi Erlacher
- U.S. Rising Star (Financial & Corporate) — Rob O'Connor
To see the full list of 2026 Americas Awards winners, visit the LMG Life Sciences website.