Eric Wu serves as a trusted advisor to some of the world’s most sophisticated companies, private equity sponsors, and investors doing business in the Asia-Pacific region. Clients seek out Eric for his business-minded advice and unparalleled understanding of the Asia-Pacific life sciences, healthcare, technology, and consumer products industries. He guides clients with respect to their corporate transactional and governance needs throughout the full life cycle of a company. This includes advising on platform establishment and design, capital raising and capital markets transactions, cross-border M&A, private equity and growth equity investments, licensing, divestments, and other innovative collaborations and arrangements.
As former APAC regional counsel for Johnson & Johnson, Eric brings to clients a deep understanding of the in-house environment, combined with years of law firm experience across the region. While at Johnson & Johnson, he also partnered with senior business leaders to implement business development and innovation activities across the Asia-Pacific. Throughout his career in both Asia and the U.S., Eric has worked with industry players ranging from regional and global biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer healthcare companies to venture capital, private equity and hedge funds.
Eric is deeply committed to pro bono. As a member of Ropes & Gray’s pro bono committee, he has led matters spanning the Innocence Project, Lawyers Without Borders, immigration, COVID-19, gun-control issues and Kids In Need of Defense (KIND).
Experience
Strategic Transactions & Corporate Representations
- Serves as primary outside counsel to Shanghai-based biotechnology start-up LianBio, a company launched by life sciences investment firm Perceptive Advisors, on its formation, organizational design and structure, fundraising activities in the U.S. and China, asset acquisitions, licensing transactions, strategic collaborations, and its successful initial public offering. This encompasses LianBio’s:
- $310 million crossover financing, in-licensing of assets (from MyoKardia, QED and Navire) for development and commercialization in China;
- bespoke strategic platform collaborations with Pfizer to develop and commercialize various therapeutic candidates across Asia;
- customized strategic partnership with BridgeBio;
- $325 Million U.S. IPO – one of the largest biotech IPOs in 2021, an award-winning transaction named China Law & Practice Awards’ 2022 “Equity Securities Deal of the Year,” and also among China Business Law Journal’s 2022 Capital Markets “Deals of the Year”;
- its $350 million agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize heart drugs in Asia; and
- Multiple cross-border licensing transactions with its licensing partners around the world.
- Advised Johnson & Johnson on its mergers and acquisitions, licensing, early and mid-stage investments, and collaborations for its consumer, medical device and pharmaceuticals business across Asia Pacific, including:
- its investment in, and collaboration with, Legend Biotech, a Nasdaq-listed China based CAR-T biotech company;
- its US$2.1 billion tender offer to acquire Dr. Ci:Labo, a Japanese company in the dermocosmetic, cosmetic and skincare products industry; and
- JLabs related activities in the APAC region.
- Represented J-Pharma, a Japanese bio-venture company, in an agreement with Georgetown University granting an exclusive worldwide license for the treatment of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system.
- Represented numerous global life sciences and related companies on their mergers and acquisitions, financing and strategic transactions in China and across the Asia-Pacific region, including Takeda, Becton Dickinson, Mersana Therapeutics, TriArm Therapeutics, Tactiva Therapeutics, Profex, Viela Bio and Genetron Health.
Private Capital Transactions Representations
- Advised Perceptive Advisors, Bain Capital, JJDC (venture arm of Johnson & Johnson), Temasek, BPEA EQT, Panacea Venture, CDIB Capital Group, TPG, KKR, Kleiner Perkins, Vivo Capital, Essex Healthcare, Sequoia, Goldman Sachs, WI Harper, Avista Capital Partners among others, on their respective investments, acquisitions and strategic transactions in China and across the Asia-Pacific region.