The Life Sciences team advised Curon Biopharmaceutical Limited (“Curon”) in entering into a definitive agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC (“Merck”), pursuant to which Merck will acquire full global rights to CN201 for an upfront payment of $700 million in cash. Curon is also eligible to receive up to $600 million in milestone payments associated with the development and regulatory approval of CN201. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.
Curon is a clinical-stage company developing bispecific antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer, from both internal research and external collaborations. The company is a Cayman Islands incorporated company with operations in Australia, Hong Kong and Shanghai, China.
The Goodwin team was led by Wenseng “Wendy” Pan, and Shoaib Ghias and included Kevin Guan, Amine Assouad, Longfei Fang, Claire Zhang, Tianren Han and Nikol Nerhan (M&A); Dan Karelitz, George Davis, and Erika Pey (Tax); Sarah Stoiber and Chris Zhong (IPTS); Catherine McCarty and Lily Xu (Patent); Malhar Naik and Rahat Tariq (Executive Compensation); Arman Oruc and Simone Waterbury (Antitrust); Susan S. Lee (FDA); Jacqueline Klosek (Privacy); Ingram Cheung and Billy Chong (HK Corporate).
For more details, read the press release.