Alison Freeman-Gleason

Alison, previously a partner at Cooley, focuses her practice on intellectual property transactions and complex commercial contracting in the life sciences sector. She has experience in a wide variety of transactions, particularly in complicated cross-border licensing and strategic collaborations, including global co-development, co-promotion and profit-sharing arrangements, international distribution, technology acquisition and other highly negotiated transactions.

During her 25+ years of practice, Alison has counseled companies ranging from privately held startups to large public corporations – including biopharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic, specialty pharmaceutical, vaccine, generics and global health companies – and has assisted them in achieving their strategic and business objectives through structuring, drafting and negotiating agreements to develop, commercialize and monetize their assets.

Alison assists clients with a range of transactions in the life sciences sector, spanning from early-stage university/institute licensing and research and development transactions – including discovery and option agreements and clinical trial, formulation development and sponsored research agreements – to global collaborations, co-promotion, marketing, distribution, master services, manufacturing and supply agreements, technology acquisitions, spinouts, and mergers & acquisitions. Working with other leaders in the firm, Alison also advises clients on matters relating to these transactions – including regulatory, healthcare compliance, antitrust, privacy, cyber and data protection, IP prosecution, enforcement and defense, tax, and international commercial arbitration matters.

Some of Alison’s life sciences strategic alliance and technology acquisition transactions include:

• License and collaboration agreement between Catalyst Pharmaceuticals and Santhera Pharmaceuticals to commercialize vamorolone in the US, Canada and Mexico
• License agreement between Atreca and Zymeworks to utilize ZymeLink technology to develop novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)
• Agreement between Cytek Biosciences and Luminex Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of DiaSorin, for Cytek’s acquisition of substantially all of Luminex’s assets related to the Flow Cytometry & Imaging (FCI) business
• Collaboration agreement between Molecular Templates (MTEM) and Bristol Myers Squibb to discover and develop multiple novel therapies designed for specific oncology targets utilizing MTEM’s next-generation engineered toxin body (ETB) platform
• Collaboration and license agreement between Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Otsuka Pharmaceutical to develop and commercialize oral voclosporin for the treatment of lupus nephritis in the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia, Switzerland, Norway, Belarus, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine
• Agreement between Catalyst Pharmaceuticals and Eisai for Catalyst’s acquisition of the US rights to FYCOMPA (perampanel) CIII
• Strategic collaboration agreement between CStone Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer to develop and commercialize CStone’s sugemalimab (CS1001, PD-L1 antibody) in mainland China
• Collaboration agreements between Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to research and develop therapies for coronaviruses and new therapies for influenza and other respiratory viruses
• Collaboration agreement between Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Esperion Therapeutics to develop and commercialize NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET tablets in Japan
• Asset contribution agreement between Pfizer and Allogene Therapeutics for Pfizer’s portfolio of assets related to allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapy
• Collaboration and license agreement between CStone Pharmaceuticals and Blueprint Medicines to develop and commercialize monotherapies and combination therapies for cancer in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau
• Collaboration agreement between Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Verily in connection with the conduct of Otsuka clinical studies using Verily’s Baseline Platform and tools
• Acquisition by C3J Therapeutics (now Armata Pharmaceuticals) of engineered bacteriophage assets from Synthetic Genomics
• License agreement between Eagle Pharmaceuticals and SymBio Pharmaceuticals for Japanese rights to Eagle’s bendamustine hydrochloride ready-to-dilute and rapid infusion injection products
• License agreement between Otsuka Pharmaceutical and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to develop and commercialize Teva’s investigational drug candidate (TEV-48125), an anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) monoclonal antibody for the prevention of migraine, in Japan
• Exclusive regional license agreement between CStone Pharmaceuticals and Numab Therapeutics to develop and commercialize ND021, a potential best-in-class monovalent, tri-specific antibody-based molecule targeting PD-L1, 4-1BB and human serum albumin (HSA)
• Co-promotion agreement between Eagle Pharmaceuticals and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals
• Collaboration agreements between Otsuka Pharmaceutical and H. Lundbeck A/S relating to Otsuka’s Rexulti and Abilify Maintena products
• Generic product commercial supply and distribution agreements for Impax Laboratories
• Co-development and commercialization agreement between Otsuka Pharmaceutical and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (now Takeda) for Otsuka to develop and commercialize Iclusig (ponatinib) in Japan and nine other Asian countries
• Acquisition, transition and supply agreements between PBM Capital and Eisai

Before joining Cooley, Alison was a shareholder at Heller Ehrman, where she served as co-chair of its clean technologies practice group. Along with her life sciences work, Alison’s practice at Heller Ehrman included project development, technology licensing and acquisition, joint ventures, and mergers & acquisitions in the energy technologies and advanced materials sectors. In addition to her law background, Alison gained invaluable business and operational experience as a founder of a successful green building materials company.

While at Yale Law School, Alison was a notes editor for the Yale Law & Policy Review. After graduating from law school, she was a law clerk to Judge Robert H. Hall of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Alison is a volunteer for Wayfind (Attorneys Supporting Communities) and other charitable organizations.