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Life Sciences

Innovation in life sciences creates an ever-changing landscape. You need a well-versed legal team that can represent you on all the matters relevant to your business, whether you are an early stage startup or established company.

Our Life Sciences group, many of whom hold PhDs or Master’s Degrees in related fields, understand the science and technology your business is built on. Using a collaborative and disciplined approach, our team is here for all your legal needs, including:

  • helping you commercialize
  • protecting your intellectual property
  • assisting with regulatory issues
  • financing
  • licensing projects
  • resolving any disputes

We have extensive experience when it comes to the challenges early stage companies face, acting as preferred business advisers to those who want to build quickly enterprise value. Our group works with clients to come up with efficient and cost-effective solutions that work for them.

Our lawyers and registered patent and trademark agents work with multiple teams firm-wide to help you balance marketing, regulatory and intellectual property concerns with successful financing and business strategies. Our professionals provide valuable insights into your business to help you achieve success.

We work with:

  • venture capital firms
  • private equity and investment banks investing in the life sciences sector
  • drug manufacturers
  • medical device companies
  • manufacturers of natural health products, both domestic and international

Working in all areas of life sciences, we help clients with:

  • intellectual property protection and litigation
  • Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations
  • food and drug law
  • financings and capital markets
  • licensing, research collaborations and other strategic alliances
  • mergers, acquisitions and divestitures
  • federal Patented Medicine Prices Review Board and provincial price reimbursements
  • government relations
  • advertising and promotion
  • competition
  • labour and employment
  • privacy
  • tax
  • product liability
  • class actions
  • dispute resolution

Members of our team actively contribute to the life sciences community locally, regionally and nationally. With experience working with leading industry participants, our professionals provide valuable insights to all of our clients, including those entering the Canadian market.

Experience

  • Frontage Laboratories in its acquisition of Nucro Technics, an Ontario-based Contract Support Organization for the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and marijuana industries.
  • Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) in four agreements for technology development with biotechnology company EVAH Corp.
  • Sansero Life Sciences Inc. and Rise Wellness on their merger with CannaGlobal to create a new international psychedelic company.
  • Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSX:AUP), a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing voclosporin in multiple indications, on its US$200 million underwritten public offering.
  • Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. in its US$191.7 firmly underwritten public equity financing as a follow on to its successful Phase 3 clinical study in lupus nephritis.
  • Citoxlab, a private non-clinical contract research organization (CRO), in its €448 million sale to Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL), a company specializing in a variety of preclinical and clinical laboratory services for the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology industries.
  • Wildflower Brands Inc. (CSE: SUN, OTC: WLDFF), an integrated health and wellness company, in its $45 million acquisition of City Cannabis Corp., a premier licenced cannabis retailer in British Columbia.
  • The Supreme Cannabis Company, Inc., a TSX, OTC and Frankfurt listed global diversified portfolio of distinct cannabis companies, products and brans, in its $20 million acquisition of Truverra Inc., a private cannabis company, serving the Canadian and international cannabis markets through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Canadian Clinical Cannabinoids Inc. and Truverra (Europe) B.V. As a result of the transaction, City Cannabis is the only British Columbia based cannabis retailer to go public. In addition, in filing and prosecution strategy and mark protection for a large cannabis industry member operating in the medical and recreational space. Such strategy includes navigating new regulations and impacts on branding.
  • Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN), an animal healthcare company, in its $78.5 million acquisition of Prevtec Microbia Inc., a biotechnology startup specializing in the development of vaccines that help prevent bacterial diseases in food animals, including inventory and pipeline assets.
  • Arbutus Biopharma Corporation in its C$37 million joint venture partnership with Roivant Sciences Ltd. to form Genevant Sciences.
  • CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. in its defense against a $586 million all stock hostile bid from Aurora Cannabis Inc. and the negotiation of a sweetened friendly $1.23 billion cash and stock offer.
  • Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., in appealing the legal errors in Teva Canada Limited v. Janssen Inc. et al. This is necessary to restore validity to our client’s patents and ensure the law in Canada is not weakened.
  • Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Del Caribe, Inc., Lilly S.A., and ICOS Corporation in defending against all marketing generic companies in a number of patent infringement matters relating to CIALIS® and ADCIRCA® tadalafil products. In all cases, allegations of infringement of three patents, relating to unit doses, formulations and processes, are asserted.
  • Hollyweed North Cannabis Inc. in co-ordinating and filing numerous trademarks for use in the cannabis industry, including working with local counsel in other jurisdictions to protect the marks while navigating a challenging regulatory environment.
  • Desjardins Capital Markets, as lead underwriter, in Savaria Corporation’s C$70.75 million bought deal private placement, a TSX-listed leader in the accessibility industry.
  • Titan Medical Inc., a medical device company focused on the design, development and commercialization of a robotic surgical system for application in minimally invasive surgery in its US$28.75 million public offering, as well as its Common Share Purchase Agreement of up to US$35 million.
  • Resverlogix Corp., a late-stage clinical biotechnology company in its C$6.6 million private placement with Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, its C$15.1 million private placement with Shenzhen Hepalink and other investors, and its C$15.2 million marketed public offering.

Key Contacts

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