Morgan Lewis & Bockius

Headquartered in Philadelphia with an additional thirty offices across the globe, Morgan Lewis & Bockius is a full-service firm with an established life sciences practice serving a variety of clients, from startups to market-leading companies. In addition to providing counseling on corporate financing, transactions, and venture capital matters, the firm has developed a particular focus on the licensing and collaborations space.

Benjamin Pensak represents a number of companies in the life sciences industry in all aspects of corporate and financial matters. He recently advised Eli Lilly in its collaboration with Sigilon Therapeutics to develop cell therapy treatment of Type 1 diabetes. In addition, Pensak also represented Xencor in a $460 million licensing agreement with Genentech.

Alongside Pensak is Alan Leeds, who co-chairs the firm's global life science practice, and partner David Glazer, who are veterans with a reputation for advising some of the biggest names in the industry. Both Leeds and Glazer recently represented Merck in its $5.8 billion strategic collaboration agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai.

Mark Stein and Steven Navarro are recognized for representing both investors and companies in a variety of matters including corporate financing, public offerings, transactions, and venture funding.

International firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius provides a full-service IP practice in life sciences, earning national rankings in general patent litigation, patent prosecution and strategy. The firm has been one to watch for its significant streak of lateral hires over the past two years, bolstering the firm's capabilities in the contentious and non-contentious patent arenas.

Michael Abernathy currently serves as co-head of the firm's IP litigation and life sciences IP groups. He is well-versed in patent litigation, having served as first-chair in numerous Hatch-Waxman disputes and jury trials. Abernathy recently acted for Praxair in an 11-patent infringement case against Mallinckrodt, INO Therapeutics and Ikaria in the District Court of Delaware. The Court invalidated six of the patents and found the other five not infringed. The matter is currently on appeal. Global IP head Eric Kraeutler has more than four decades of experience in law, and focuses his practice on patent litigation.

In prosecution and strategy, Jeffry Mann is one of the firm's leading practitioners for life sciences patent advice. He specializes in patent preparation and prosecution, IP portfolio monetization, due diligence and licensing. He recently represented cell therapy company Medisix Therapeutics in a $20 million Series A funding led by Lightstone Ventures to be used for product development and pre-clinical studies. For his recent work, Mann was shortlisted by LMG Life Sciences for the California Patent Strategy & Management Attorney of the Year award in 2019. Boston-based Steven Frank focuses his practice on IP transactions, patent prosecution and strategic counseling.

New to the stars list is Stephen Altieri, who is versed in patent portfolio development for emerging clients in a number of areas, including biologics, diagnostics and immunotherapies. He recently advised a late-stage biologics client in IP due diligence.

Morgan Lewis & Bockius has an all-encompassing practice in the life sciences space. The firm receives national ranking for its involvement in white-collar matters, licensing and collaboration, patent litigation, regulatory counseling and general corporate work. Recently, the firm made news for its significant streak of lateral hires, particularly in the IP group.

For non-IP litigation, group chair Eric Sitarchuk is one of the firm's senior practitioners focused on white-collar and corporate investigations. He was recently active for Rite Aid in a qui tam matter involving allegations made by California's medical assistance program Medi-Cal. John Dodds has experience representing pharmaceutical and medical device companies in government investigations, bolstered by his credentials as a former prosecutor in the public sector. Among his current representations, Dodds is active for a drug maker client in a case involving the False Claims Act. Antitrust stars Gordon Cooney and Steven Reed are representing Teva and Glenmark in a multidistrict litigation that was consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Co-head of the healthcare industry initiative Howard Young recently advised medical technology client Philips in regulatory compliance issues related to its acquisition of healthcare IT company Carestream.

Two of the firm's leading regulatory practitioners are Stephen Paul Mahinka and Kathleen Sanzo, who are deeply experienced advisors to clients in the life sciences sector. Sanzo specializes in approval, marketing, labeling and compliance issues for companies across technology areas, including pharmaceutical and device manufacturers. Mahinka is well versed in compliance and antitrust issues. Michele Buenafe is the leader of the firm's digital health initiative and co-leader of the firm's cross-practice healthcare initiative. She has experience advising pharmaceutical and medical device clients. In the pricing and reimbursement space, Andrew Ruskin brings over 20 years of experience assisting a variety of healthcare, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies with Medicare and Medicaid matters.

In the financial and corporate group, Benjamin Pensak is a go-to for life sciences-related licensing agreements and collaborations. He recently advised Eli Lilly in its collaboration with Sigilon Therapeutics to develop cell therapy treatment of Type 1 diabetes. Global life sciences group co-chair Alan Leeds and partner David Glazer are highly experienced attorneys with a reputation for advising major companies in the industry. Mark Stein and Steven Navarro represent both investors and companies in a variety of corporate matters including financing, public offerings, transactions, and venture funding.

Life sciences IP group co-head Michael Abernathy recently acted for Praxair in an 11-patent infringement case against Mallinckrodt, INO Therapeutics and Ikaria in the District Court of Delaware. Another standout patent litigator is global IP head Eric Kraeutler, who has more than four decades of experience in law. In prosecution and strategy, Jeffry Mann is one of the firm's leading practitioners for life sciences patent advice. He specializes in patent preparation and prosecution, IP portfolio monetization, due diligence and licensing. He recently represented cell therapy company Medisix Therapeutics in a $20 million Series A funding led by Lightstone Ventures. Boston-based Steven Frank focuses his practice on IP transactions, patent prosecution and strategic counseling.

Morgan Lewis & Bockius's national rankings in government investigations and antitrust are supported by an experienced team of litigators with a deep focus on life sciences clients. The firm has recently made headlines for its streak of lateral hires across practice areas, including two antitrust partners who joined the team last year.

Eric Sitarchuk is a senior partner in the Philadelphia office and current chair of the firm's white-collar and corporate investigations practice. He is experienced in a diverse set of matters, including cases that involve the False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and qui tam claims. Sitarchuk was recently active for Rite Aid in a qui tam matter involving allegations made by California's medical assistance program Medi-Cal. John Dodds has experience representing pharmaceutical and medical device companies in government investigations, bolstered by his credentials as a former prosecutor in the public sector. Among his current representations, Dodds is active for a drug maker client in a case involving the False Claims Act.

In the antitrust group, Gordon Cooney and Steven Reed are representing Teva and Glenmark in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) that was consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The suit arose from a Department of Justice investigation involving alleged price fixing practices among generic drug makers, and is one of the largest MDLs to date. Howard Young is co-head of the firm's healthcare industry initiative and one of the group's experts on regulatory enforcement and investigations. He recently advised medical technology client Philips in regulatory compliance issues related to its acquisition of healthcare IT company Carestream.

Morgan Lewis & Bockius is an international law firm with a broad-based life sciences regulatory practice. The firm offers a full suite of regulatory services to clients in the industry, with the ability to advise clients at all stages of product development.

Kathleen Sanzo has extensive experience assisting a number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with regulatory and compliance issues. Life science industry group founder Stephen Paul Mahinka brings over 40 years of experience counseling clients in regulatory, compliance and antitrust issues. Outside of his client-focused practice, Mahinka often authors articles and books on FDA-related issues.

Michele Buenafe advises both pharmaceutical and medical device clients in a host of matters, including development, manufacturing, marketing, labeling and advertising issues. Buenafe is the leader of the firm's digital health initiative and co-leader of the firm's cross-practice healthcare initiative.

In the pricing and reimbursement space, Andrew Ruskin brings over 20 years of experience assisting a variety of healthcare, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies with Medicare and Medicaid matters. In addition to advising clients on matters related to coverage, reimbursement, and compliance, Ruskin also represents clients under investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services.