Dr. Matthew Pavao

Cooley advised EsoBiotec, a biotechnology company pioneering in vivo cell therapies that has demonstrated promising early clinical activity, on its definitive agreement to be acquired by AstraZeneca (London Stock Exchange/Nasdaq Stockholm/Nasdaq: AZN) for up to $1 billion on a cash- and debt-free basis.

Cooley advised Araris Biotech, a Swiss biotechnology company developing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates, on its definitive agreement to be acquired by Japan-based Taiho Pharmaceutical for up to $1.14 billion in cash.

Cooley advised Poseida Therapeutics, a clinical-stage allogeneic cell therapy and genetic medicines company advancing differentiated nonviral treatments for patients with cancer, autoimmune and rare diseases, on its merger agreement to be acquired by Roche at a price of $9 per share in cash at closing, plus a non-tradable contingent value right to receive up to an aggregate of $4 per share in cash, payable upon achievement of specified milestones. The price payable at closing represents a total equity value of up to $1.5 billion and a premium of approximately 215% to Poseida’s closing share price on November 25, 2024. Cooley previously represented Poseida in its initial public offering, equity and debt transactions, and collaboration agreements, including its collaboration agreement with Roche.

Cooley advised Degron Therapeutics on intellectual property due diligence matters in connection with its $1.2 billion collaboration agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Degron and Takeda will collaborate to utilize Degron’s GlueXplorer platform to identify, validate and optimize molecular glue degraders for specific therapeutic targets selected by Takeda.

Cooley advised Autolus – a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation programmed T-cell therapies – on its strategic collaboration with BioNTech, an immunotherapy company pioneering novel therapies for cancer and other serious diseases, to advance both companies’ autologous CAR-T programs toward commercialization, as well as a $350 million underwritten offering.