Ropes & Gray Represents Pfizer in Strategic Collaboration with Flagship Pioneering to Create New Pipeline of Innovative Medicines

Ropes & Gray advised Pfizer in a strategic collaboration with Flagship Pioneering to create a new pipeline of innovative medicines. The collaboration was announced on July 18.

Under the terms of the novel agreement, Flagship and Pfizer will each invest $50 million upfront to explore opportunities to develop 10 single-asset programs by leveraging Flagship’s ecosystem of more than 40 human health companies and multiple biotechnology platforms. Pfizer will fund and have an option to acquire each selected development program. Flagship and its bioplatform companies will be eligible to receive up to $700 million in milestones and royalties for each successfully commercialized program.

Pioneering Medicines, an initiative of Flagship Pioneering, working in collaboration with Pfizer's research and development leadership, will lead the exploration process to drive rapid potential portfolio creation. The focus will be addressing unmet needs within Pfizer's core strategic areas of interest, including in broad patient populations and diseases with high potential to benefit from a diverse range of technology platforms and modalities.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by venture capital & emerging companies partner Brad Flint and life sciences licensing partner Amanda Austin, venture capital & emerging companies and life sciences licensing associate Raj Banerjee, life sciences licensing associate Evan Tallmadge and venture capital & emerging companies associate Joe Muller and included mergers & acquisitions partner Emily Oldshue, life sciences licensing partner Megan Baca, tax partners Amanda Holt and David Saltzman, alternative asset opportunities partner Adam Dobson and mergers & acquisitions counsel Aileen Kim.