Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is a globally recognized, full-service firm with a robust life sciences group. The firm provides the full gamut of financial and corporate services for life sciences companies, and is noted for having an "excellent market share" of the biotech space, according to one peer. Clients of the firm range from startups to large public companies.

Judith Hasko is vice chair of Latham's life sciences and healthcare group, and is widely recognized for her work in the licensing and collaboration space. In the past year, Hasko represented Oasmia Pharmaceuticals in its strategic partnership with Elevar Therapeutics in a deal valued at nearly $700 million. In addition, Hasko also advised Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in its collaboration with Merck.

Charles Ruck focuses on life sciences transactions, serving clients from both the firm's Orange County and New York offices. One peer notes he is “smart, thoughtful and constructive.” Among his recent matters, Ruck was part of the Latham team that represented Amgen in its $2.7 billion acquisition of a 20.5% stake in China-based biopharmaceutical company BeiGene.

Co-chair of the firm’s life sciences and healthcare group is Brian Cuneo, who one peer notes has a “fantastic” reputation in the industry. In addition to his activity in capital markets, Cuneo is known for his work in the venture capital space, advising both venture funds and underwriters.  In the past year, Cuneo assisted Omniome in a Series C financing as well as AI-driven biopharmaceutical company Insitro with its $143 million Series B financing round. In recognition of his activity in the space, Cuneo was named this year’s LMG Life Sciences Venture Capital Attorney of the Year. 

Latham & Watkins's IP group is highly recommended in general patent litigation, offering a strong bench of life sciences-oriented litigators versed across technology areas, including biologics. The firm has strategically moved towards representing branded drug manufacturers, resulting in recommended status in this year’s branded Hatch-Waxman litigation ranking.

IP litigation co-chair Michael Morin receives acclaim from numerous peers in the space, supported by his continued work in high-profile matters related to biologics. He and partner David Frazier recently acted for client AbbVie and Pharmacyclics in two patent infringement suits against AstraZeneca related to its Imbruvica drug. The matters recently settled. Morin was also engaged in a matter for Abbott in a medical device dispute against Integrated Sensing System. For his notable litigation activity and strong endorsements from the market, Morin won the DC Patent Litigator of the Year award by LMG Life Sciences.

Maximilian Grant is a respected litigator who had a major part in the firm’s IP growth. He recently represented InfoBionic in two cases brought by competitor CardioNet. Kenneth Schuler and Daniel Brown acted for Par Pharmaceutical in a Hatch-Waxman dispute in the District of Delaware involving the client’s branded Adrenalin injectable. The court found Par’s patents valid and infringed by Hospira.

The firm recently hired patent litigator Adam Perlman, who is currently listed is an LMG Life Sciences Star and is deeply experienced in branded Hatch-Waxman disputes.

Latham & Watkins is an international firm with a strong roster of litigators and counselors focused on the life sciences industry. The firm is deeply qualified in the financial space, evidenced by its top ranking in every practice area involving transactional and corporate work. Its litigation department also stands out for its offering in IP, antitrust and white-collar matters. For its wide-ranging activity in the industry, Latham & Watkins was awarded 2020 Life Cycle Firm of the Year by LMG Life Sciences, a recognition earned for the second year in a row.

Judith Hasko is vice chair of Latham's life sciences and healthcare group, and is widely recognized for her work in the licensing and collaboration space. She is a member of the LMG Life Sciences Hall of Fame for her status in the industry. Hasko’s recent representations include Oasmia Pharmaceuticals in its strategic partnership with Elevar Therapeutics, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics in its collaboration with Merck. Co-chair of the firm’s life sciences and healthcare group is Brian Cuneo was named Venture Capital Attorney of the Year in 2020 for his notable activity in financings. He was recently active for Omniome in its $60 million Series C financing, and Insitro in its $143 million Series B. About Boston-based partner Peter Handrinos, a client says: “He's very good at clearly explaining complex things and reassuring non-lawyers that everything is okay. I like his team and trust the lawyers he chooses. He has a good feel for people.”

IP litigation co-chair Michael Morin receives acclaim from numerous peers in the space, supported by his continued work in high-profile matters related to biologics. He and partner David Frazier recently acted for client AbbVie and Pharmacyclics in two patent infringement suits against AstraZeneca related to its Imbruvica drug. Morin was the 2020 winner of the Patent Litigator of the Year award in DC. Maximilian Grant is a respected litigator who had a major part in the firm’s IP growth. He recently represented InfoBionic in two cases brought by competitor CardioNet. Kenneth Schuler and Daniel Brown acted for Par Pharmaceutical in a Hatch-Waxman dispute in the District of Delaware.

For non-IP litigation, the firm garnered significant awards attention in 2020 for its involvement in a noteworthy litigation involving an HHS rule. The matter, Merck & Co v United States Department of Health and Human Services, was one of the Non-IP Impact Cases of the Year, and involved one of the year’s litigation awardees Daniel Meron. Meron is healthcare and life sciences group co-chair, and a specialist in regulatory enforcement, investigations and other areas of litigation. Global antitrust chair Amanda Reeves and partner Daniel Wall were active for Genentech in an antitrust suit filed in the Southern District of New York by a Russian biotech company, alleging the client engaged in anticompetitive activity.

Latham's regulatory team includes standout attorneys Benneville Haas, Stuart Kurlander and John Manthei. Manthei serves as global co-chair of the firm's healthcare and life sciences practice group, and is focused on representing clients in all areas of a product's regulatory life cycle. Manthei led the Latham team representing Chinese conglomerate Tencent, advising on FDA requirements and other tariff questions in relation to the company’s donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) to US hospitals as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Kurlander heads a Latham team that serves as regulatory and reimbursement counsel to Abbott Diabetes Care.

Latham & Watkins offers a substantial footprint in the litigation space, earning top marks for its practice focused on antitrust litigation and recommended status in the government investigations space. The firm garnered significant awards attention in 2020 for its involvement in a noteworthy litigation involving a Department of Health and Human Services rule.

Antitrust veteran Daniel Wall and LMG Life Sciences newcomer Amanda Reeves were active for Genentech in an antitrust suit filed in the Southern District of New York by a Russian biotech company, alleging the client engaged in anticompetitive activity. Reeves, who currently serves as chair of the firm’s global antitrust practice, is also active in antitrust transactions in addition to litigation.

Healthcare and life sciences group co-chair Daniel Meron is a specialist in regulatory enforcement, investigations and other areas of litigation. Among his notable matters from the past year, Meron was involved in one of the Non-IP Litigation Impact Cases of the Year for clients Amgen, Eli Lilly and Merck that invalidated an HHS rule requiring drug prices to be shown in pharmaceuticals advertisements. Meron was awarded Government Investigations Attorney of the Year in 2020 for his work in the area.

International law firm Latham & Watkins has an emerging regulatory practice led by perennial LMG Life Sciences star John Manthei. Manthei, who also serves of global chair of the firm’s healthcare and life sciences group, focuses his practice on assisting a variety of pharmaceutical and medical device companies with matters involving the FDA. Among his recent clients, Manthei led the Latham team representing Chinese conglomerate Tencent, advising on FDA requirements and other tariff questions in relation to the company’s donation of personal protective equipment (PPE) to US hospitals as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Another star practitioner at the firm assisting in FDA matters is J Benneville Haas.  In addition to advising a variety of life sciences companies with regulatory issues, Haas also assists in the transactional space, conducting regulatory due diligence for major public offerings, mergers, and other finance-related activities.

Stuart Kurlander focuses his practice on healthcare pricing and reimbursement matters, advising a number of innovative medical device companies. Among his current clients, Kurlander heads the Latham team that serves regulatory and reimbursement counsel to Abbott Diabetes Care (ADC), which manufacturer of diabetes-related medical products. Kurlander assisted ADC in developing a strategy to increase patient access to the company’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device during the Covid-19 outbreak.