Lila Hope

Lila is a partner in Cooley’s life sciences transactional group and co-chair of the firm’s Women’s Initiative. For 20+ years, she has focused on the representation of life sciences companies discovering, developing and marketing pharmaceutical, vaccine, medical device, diagnostic and digital health products. Lila specializes in transactions involving complex intellectual property, business, operational and legal issues, including strategic partnerships and platform discovery and option deals. In addition, she counsels clients’ management, operational and legal teams on day-to-day matters involving licensing, supply, distribution, clinical trials, research collaborations and vendor services. She also is routinely involved in the evaluation of a company’s product rights and operational risks in connection with financing, public offering and M&A transactions. In addition to her long-established practice in the US, Lila maintains an active practice in cross-border licensing transactions, and she has concluded more than 40 transactions involving Asian biotechnology companies since 2015, including inbound, outbound and newco transactions.

Lila graduated with a JD magna cum laude in 2002 from Duke University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and awarded the Class of 1968 Scholarship. She earned her PhD in cancer biology from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1999, characterizing a novel tumor susceptibility gene as a Stanford Markey Predoctoral Fellow.

Lila is a member of the State Bar of California and the American Bar Association. She has been heavily involved with Duke Law and Stanford Medicine over the past decade, having served as the past president and as a past board member of both the Duke Law Alumni Association and the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association. She currently serves as a member of the Duke Law Board of Visitors.

Lila has been recognized by Chambers USA in the category of Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial – California in its 2020 – 2024 editions and nationwide in its 2024 edition. She was recognized as a Law360 MVP in Life Sciences, a Top 10 Powerhouse Life Sciences Corporate Lawyer in California by Business Today, a key lawyer in the Healthcare: Life Sciences category by The Legal 500 US, and a Top 25 Biotechnology and Life Sciences Attorney by Attorney Intel. She also is frequently sought out as a speaker and moderator at conferences and forums throughout the United States.

Lila’s recent significant transactions include:

Strategic partnerships and collaborations since 2018

• License and collaboration among Radiomedix, Orano Med and Sanofi (2024)
• Research collaboration between Degron and Takeda (2024)
• Research collaboration between Biotheryx and Incyte (2023)
• Expansion of allogeneic cell therapy product license and platform collaboration between Fate Therapeutics and Ono Pharmaceutical (2022)
• Companion diagnostic product collaboration between Akoya Biosciences and Acrivon Therapeutics (2022)
• Collaboration and license between SiteOne Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (2022)
• Product acquisition between Vera Therapeutics and Pfizer (2022) and product license between Vera and Merck (2021)
• Option and license between COUR Pharmaceuticals and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (2022)
• Drug discovery collaboration between Nimble Therapeutics and Genentech Therapeutics (2022) and between Nimble and Incyte (2022)
• Multiple myeloma drug collaboration between Eureka Therapeutics and Sanofi (2021)
• Allogeneic cell therapy product license and platform collaboration between Fate and Janssen (2020) and between Fate and Ono (2018)
• Viral immunotherapy platform collaboration between Turnstone Biologics and Takeda Pharmaceuticals (2019) and between Turnstone and AbbVie (2017)
• Kidney disease discovery platform collaboration between Goldfinch Bio and Gilead Sciences (2019)
• Neurodegenerative disease platform collaboration between Takeda and Denali Therapeutics (2018)

Representative cross-border transactions

• Newco transactions:
  • Represented Orbimed in a newco transaction to establish Belenos and in-license product rights from KeyMed
  • Represented Sciwind to out-license product rights to newco Verdiva
  • Represented Tiannuo (KeyMed and InnoCare) to out-license product rights to newco Prolium
• License agreement between Foreseen and Ipsen (2024)
• License agreement between Puhe and Bayer (2024)
• License and collaboration between Systimmune and BMS (2023)
• License and collaboration between Zai Lab and:
  • Vertex (2025); Mabcare (2024); MediLink Therapeutics (2023); Seagen (2022); argenx (2021); Karuna Therapeutics (2021); Blueprint Medicines (2021); Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (2020); Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (2019); MacroGenics (2018); Paratek Pharmaceuticals (2017); TESARO (2016); GSK (2016); Bristol Myers Squibb (2015); Sanofi (2015); and UCB (2015)
• Collaboration between Rona Therapeutics and Keymed Biosciences (2023)
• Product acquisition between Zion Pharma and Roche (2023)
• Global partnership between Impact Therapeutics and Eikon Therapeutics (2023)
• Asset purchase between Seven and Eight Biopharmaceuticals and Eikon (2023)
• License between Zhimeng Biopharma and GSK (2022)
• Strategic partnership between Inmagene Biopharmaceuticals and Chi-Med (2021)
• Novel topical drug collaboration between Inmagene and TWi Biotechnology (2021)
• Monoclonal antibody exclusive license between I-Mab Biopharma and AbbVie (named 2020 Deal of the Year by BioCentury and BayHelix)
• Strategic collaboration between Jacobio Pharmaceuticals and AbbVie (2020)
• License and collaboration between ADC Therapeutics and ADCT BioPharma, a China joint venture (2020)
• License and collaboration between Everest Medicines and Calliditas Therapeutics (2019)
• Antiviral product license between Ark Biosciences and Roche (2018)
• License and collaboration between VISEN Pharmaceuticals (a China joint venture) and Ascendis Pharma (2018)
• License and collaboration between I-Mab and MorphoSys (2017)