AstraZeneca advised on £2.85bn deal by Birmingham law office
Gowling WLG’s Life Sciences office has advised AstraZeneca on its £2.85bn deal with biopharmaceutical company Quell Therapeutics.
Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay Quell Therapeutics an upfront payment of $85m, comprising a cash payment and equity investment.
There will also be further payment of up to $2bn, contingent on agreed development and commercialisation milestones being reached, as well as tiered royalties.
Gowling’s head of life sciences in the UK, Patrick Duxbury who is based in its Birmingham office, led on the deal alongside fellow life sciences partner Jenny Davies.
The two companies will now come together to develop, manufacture and commercialise engineered T-regulator cell therapies for treating certain autoimmune diseases.
In addition, there is an option for Quell Therapeutics to co-develop T-regulator cell therapies with AstraZeneca in the US in the future.
Patrick Duxbury said: “We were excited to work with the AstraZeneca team once again, drawing on our knowledge of the business and varied sector experience to advance negotiations for our client.”
The wider team included corporate partner Ian Piggin, senior associate Róisín Bergin and associate Laura Barron. They worked closely with AstraZeneca’s senior legal counsel Ulrika Lilja Stevall.
Cooley LLP advised Quell Therapeutics.
