The Life Sciences team advised Curon Biopharmaceutical Limited (Curon) on the completion of the acquisition of CN201 by Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK). CN201, a novel investigational clinical-stage bispecific antibody for the treatment of B-cell associated diseases, is currently being investigated in Phase 1 and Phase 1b/2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), respectively. Merck acquired full global rights to CN201 for an upfront cash payment of $700 million, plus up to $600 million milestone payments.
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 announcement press release and the completion press release.