Rob Puopolo, a partner in Goodwin’s Life Sciences group, focuses his practice on representing public and privately held life sciences companies, as well as the venture capital firms, investment banks and hedge funds that focus on these companies.
Rob also serves on many committees within Goodwin’s Life Sciences business unit, including: the European Committee, the Capital Markets Committee, and the Diversity, Equity + Inclusion committee, through which he serves as a mentor to associates and junior partners and is an active advocate of the firm’s broader diversity and inclusion efforts.
Experience
Rob advises life sciences companies in the US, Europe and Australia as general outside counsel and on a variety of transactions. In addition to day-to-day representation and strategic advice to his clients, he regularly handles IPOs and public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, venture financings, joint ventures, and other strategic collaborations.
A selection of Rob’s recent representations include:
Representative Matters
- CRISPR Therapeutics (Switzerland) in its $518 million, $315 million, $200 million and $130 million public follow-on offerings; its $280 million registered direct offering; its $97 million initial public offering and concurrent private placement; and its $600 million, $350 million and $125 million at-the-market offerings
- Avadel Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) in its $125 million and its $125 million follow-on public offerings and its $65 million private placement; its $100 million and $50 million at-the-market offerings; and its $75 million synthetic royalty financing
- Monte Rosa Therapeutics in its $256 million initial public offering, $100 million follow on offering, $100 million at-the-market offering and $25 million registered direct offering
- Black Diamond Therapeutics in its $231 million initial public offering, $75 million follow on offering and $150 million at-the-market offering
- HOOKIPA Pharma (Austria) in its $84 million initial public offering and its $81 million, $75 million and $50 million follow-on public offerings; its $50 million at-the-market offering; and its $35 million private placement
- Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc (United Kingdom) in its $110 million initial public offering and its $75 million at-the-market-offering
- ProMIS Neurosciences (Canada) in its $122.7 million PIPE financing, in its $25 million at-the-market offering and its $20 million private placement
- Kazia Therapeutics (Australia) in its $35 million at-the-market offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Sarepta Therapeutics’ $575 million follow-on public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Exscientia’s (United Kingdom) $510 million initial public offering and concurrent private placement
- Candel Therapeutics in its $72 million initial public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Omega Therapeutics’ $126 million initial public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Ambrx’s $144 million initial public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Valneva’s (France) $107 million initial public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Taysha Gene Therapies’ $181 million initial public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Harmony Biosciences Holdings’ $148 million initial public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Pandion Therapeutics’ $135 million initial public offering
- BioDelivery Sciences International in its $60 million follow-on public offering
- Broadfin Capital on its investment in BioDelivery Sciences International’s $50 million follow-on public offering
- Surface Oncology in its $120 million initial public offering
- Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter in Arvinas’ $120 million initial public offering and subsequent $115 million and $400 million follow-on public offerings
- Ra Pharmaceuticals in its $58 million public follow-on offering
- SixPeaks Bio (Switzerland) in its debut with $110 million in funding and a strategic collaboration with Astra Zeneca providing for $80 million in non-dilutive funding in up front and near term milestones
- Arvinas in its collaboration with Novartis for development and commercialization of ARV-766 for the treatment of prostate cancer and providing for up to $1.16 billion in potential payments
- Alkermes (Ireland) in the spin off of its oncology business into Mural Oncology (Ireland) as a separate public company
- Theseus Pharmaceuticals in its definitive acquisition by Concentra Biosciences for $185 million
- BioDelivery Sciences International in its definitive acquisition by Collegium Pharmaceutical for $604 million
- Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc (United Kingdom) in its acquisition of Avidea Technologies for $40 million
- Trillium Therapeutics (Canada) in its acquisition by Pfizer for $2.3 billion
- BioDelivery Sciences International in its acquisition of U.S. commercial rights to Elyxyb from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
- CRISPR Therapeutics (Switzerland) in its amended collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to develop, manufacture, and commercialize CTX001
- Avadel Legacy Pharmaceuticals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avadel Pharmaceuticals (Ireland), on the sale of its hospital product assets for approximately $42 million
- BlueRock Therapeutics on its acquisition by Bayer AG for approximately $1 billion
- Ginkgo Bioworks on its collaboration with Synlogic to accelerate the expansion and development of Synlogic’s pipeline of Synthetic Biotic medicines using Ginkgo’s cell programming platform
- CRISPR Therapeutics (Switzerland) in an expanded collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to enhance its gene editing capabilities to develop novel therapies for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1
- Arvinas on an agreement with Bayer to jointly launch Oerth Bio to leverage Arvinas’ PROTAC technology for agricultural applications
- BioDelivery Sciences International in its acquisition of U.S. commercial rights to Symproic from Shionogi
- ProKidney and its lead investor, Pablo Legorreta, founder and CEO of Royalty Pharma, in the acquisition of inRegen and Twin City Bio LLC for $62 million
- CRISPR Therapeutics (Switzerland) in its collaboration with ViaCyte focused on stem cell therapies for the treatment of diabetes
- Ginkgo Bioworks in its joint venture with Bayer (Joyn Bio) focused on plant microbiome with an initial investment of $100 million
- Ginkgo Bioworks in its $14 million partnership with Glycosyn to optimize and scale the production of human milk oligosaccharides (hMOS)
- Lysosomal Therapeutics in its exclusive option arrangement with Allergan plc with an upfront payment of $150 million
- Padlock Therapeutics in its sale to Bristol-Myers Squibb with $225 million in upfront and near-term payments
- F-star Alpha (United Kingdom) in connection with its exclusive option agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb with payments of up to $475 million
- CRISPR Therapeutics (Switzerland) in its collaboration with Bayer (Casebia Therapeutics) valued up to $335 million up front
- Alkermes (Ireland) in the sale of its manufacturing facility and the manufacturing and royalty revenue associated with products manufactured at the facility and global rights to Recro Pharma, for $170 million
- Guerbet (France) in a $270 million acquisition of Mallinckrodt's Contrast Media and Delivery Systems business
- IDRx, Inc. in its $120 million Series B financing
- SixPeaks Bio (Switzerland) in its $30 million Series A financing
- Alentis Therapeutics in its $105 million Series C financing
- Nested Therapeutics launch and its $125 million in financing, including its initial financing by Versant Ventures and its $90 million Series A financing
- Wellinks in its $25 million Series C financing
- 5AM Ventures and Frazier Healthcare Partners as lead investors in the creation and $30 million financing of Radionetics Oncology
- Versant Ventures as lead investor in the $50 million Series A financing of iECURE
- Versant Ventures as lead investor in the $63 million Series A financing of Stablix Therapeutics
- Ecovative Design in its $60 million Series D financing and its $30 million Series E financing
- Atlast Food Co. in its $40 million Series A financing and its $15 million Series A-II financing
- Vaccitech Limited (United Kingdom) in its $168 million Series B financing
- 5AM Ventures as lead investor in the $70 million Series A financing of Ensoma and its $85 million Series B financing
- 5AM Ventures as lead investor in the $78 million Series A financing and $120 million Series B financing of Artiva Biotherapeutics
- Monte Rosa Therapeutics in its $32.5 million Series A financing, $96 million Series B financing, and $95 million Series C financing
- Broadfin Capital as an investor in Sonendo’s $85 million financing
- Black Diamond Therapeutics in its $85 million Series C financing
- Century Therapeutics in its launch with $250 million in financing from Bayer, Versant Ventures and Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics Inc, to advance to multiple programs into the clinic for hematologic and solid malignancies
- HOOKIPA Pharma (Austria) in its $37.4 million (€33.2 million) Series D financing
- Pablo Legorreta, founder and CEO of Royalty Pharma, as lead investor in ITBMed’s (Sweden) $67 million equity financing round
- 5AM Ventures as lead investor in a $45 million Series A financing and $60 million Series B financing of Neurogastrx
- Versant Ventures in collaboration with Bayer Healthcare in launching BlueRock Therapeutics, a next-generation regenerative medicine company, with a Series A financing of $225 million
- CRISPR Therapeutics (Switzerland) in its $140 million Series B financing
Professional Experience
He has been licensed (inactive) in Massachusetts as a certified public accountant.
Credentials
Education
JD1998
Suffolk University School of Law
(cum laude)
BA1993
Northeastern University
Admissions
Bars
- Massachusetts
Recognition & Awards
Rob is most recently recognized by Chambers USA 2024 in Massachusetts Capital Markets. Rob is recognized by The Legal 500 United States 2020-2024 editions as a “Key Lawyer,” “Next Generation Partner,” and “Recommended Lawyer” in the Healthcare: Life Sciences category. He has been recommended by The Legal 500 for Capital Markets: Equity Offerings and repeatedly recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer “Rising Star” by Law & Politics and Boston magazines. In law school, Rob was a member of the Suffolk University Transnational Law Review.
Publications
Rob's publications and presentations include:
- “CFGI Boston Life Sciences IPOs and the Capital Markets Landscape,” September 10, 2024
- “IPO Bootcamp” London, UK, November 13, 2023
- “Guide to the Initial Public Offering,” Fall 2023
- “IPO Ex-post Panel - What Did We Do Right and Could Have Gone Better?” Oktoberfest 2023 – Biotech on Tap, September 28, 2023
- “IPO Tax and Law Considerations,” Oktoberfest 2023 – Biotech on Tap, September 28, 2023
- “Interest in Biotech Equity Stories and How to Execute,” Oktoberfest 2022 – Biotech on Tap, September 22, 2022
- “LSX IPO Bootcamp,” LSX Webinar, February 7, 2022
- “Life Sciences IPO Bootcamp,” Goodwin Event, November 18, 2021
- “Trends and Hot Topics in Securities Litigation and SEC Enforcement for the Life Sciences Industry,” Goodwin Webinar, November 9, 2021
- “Life Sciences U.S. IPO Bootcamp,” Goodwin Webinar, November 17, 2020
- “SEC Filing Regimes for Non-U.S. Issuers,” Preparing for Prime Time: Best Practice Workshop for UK Issuers Considering Access to the US Markets, November 11, 2020
- “Executing Deals in the COVID-19 Era,” ABFO Virtual Boston Chapter Meeting, October 29, 2020
- “What It Takes: A Successful U.S. IPO in a New Virtual World,” Wall Street “On Tap,” October 20, 2020
- “Navigating the Ins and Outs of Cross-Border M&A,” What's Next for Europe: Hot Button Issues Facing Life Sciences Companies Webinar Series, July 9, 2020
- “IP, Licensing and Collaborations Challenges and Opportunities in the Time of COVID-19,” What's Next for Europe: Hot Button Issues Facing Life Sciences Companies Webinar Series, June 30, 2020
- “What It Takes: A Successful IPO in the New Virtual World,” European Biotech Investor Day, June 25, 2020
- “Private Investment in Public Equity (“PIPE”) Transactions and Alternative Financings,” Goodwin Webinar, June 24, 2020
- “Chief U.S./EU Regulatory Concerns for European Life Sciences Developers,” What's Next for Europe: Hot Button Issues Facing Life Sciences Companies Webinar Series, June 23, 2020
- “Capital Markets Issues Faced by European Companies in the Age of COVID-19,” What's Next for Europe: Hot Button Issues Facing Life Sciences Companies Webinar Series, June 16, 2020
- Quoted, “Here's Why A Slowdown Might Mean More IPOs in Tech, But Fewer in Biotech,” Boston Business Journal, April 22, 2020
- “20/20 Vision on Biotech M&A,” ABFO Boston Chapter Meeting, February 25, 2020
- “Trends and Hot Topics in Securities Litigation and SEC Enforcement for the Life Sciences Industry,” New York Healthcare + Biotech CLE Day, October 24, 2019
- “What It Takes – A Successful IPO,” Wall Street “On Tap,” October 4, 2019
- “The Science Behind a Successful US IPO,” European Biotech Investor Day, August 1, 2019
- “Best Practice in Seeking Access to US Capital Markets,” Preparing for Prime Time: Best Practice Workshop for UK Issuers Considering Access to the US Markets, June 20, 2019
- “Don’t Let Milestones Become Millstones: How to Turn Structured Consideration to Your Advantage in Biotech M&A Transactions,” GoodwinSpeaks, January 9, 2019
- “The Ins and Outs of Going Global,” Jumpstart Bio Breakfast Series, October 23, 2018
- “The Science of Going Public in the US,” European Biotech Investor Day, July 19, 2018
- “Best Practice in Seeking Access to US Capital Markets,” Preparing for Prime Time: Best Practice Workshop for French Issuers Considering Access to the US Markets, June 20, 2018
- “How to Access US Private and Public Investors,” Preparing Your Company for Investors from Switzerland, the United States, and Beyond, November 8 and 9, 2017