Bertrand Senechal joins CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats as partner
CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats has reinforced its equity capital markets practice with the arrival of new partner Bertrand Senechal.
It's the largest life sciences deal the US has seen so far this year.
In one of 2020's first mega-deals, biopharmaceutical behemoth Gilead Sciences has agreed to buy biotech firm Forty Seven for $4.9 billion.
Forty Seven is so-called because its flagship drug, magrolimab, is an antibody that tackles the CD47 receptor – a “don’t eat me” signal sent out by cancer cells to avoid being ingested by white blood cells. The drug is in early-stage testing. Known primarily for its cancer treatments, Forty Seven will bolster Gilead’s anti-cancer portfolio.
As cancer deals go, the Forty Seven acquisition is mid-size in 2019 deal value terms. Last year, Merck bought ArQule for $2.7 billion, and Sanofi acquired Synthorx for $2.5 billion – but Pfizer paid over $11 billion for Array Biopharma, and Eli Lilly bought Loxo Oncology for $8 billion. Even GlaxoSmithKline’s purchase of the oncology-focused Tesaro inched over $5 billion. (And of course, who can forget Takeda’s $59 billion acquisition of Shire?) The Forty Seven deal is also far smaller than Gilead’s own acquisition of KitePharma for $12 billion three years ago.
Nonetheless, the current tie-up is the biggest pharma deal on the continent so far this year. It’s also welcome news for Gilead, which has seen sales of its hepatitis C drug fall sharply. The company’s latest acquisition complements its last one: magrolimab could be used alongside Yescarta, a therapy developed by KitePharma. News of the acquisition caused Forty Seven’s share price to leap by 62%, and Gilead Sciences’s to inch up by 2.3%.
Skadden partners Stephen Arcano and Graham Robinson led advice to Gilead Sciences; Forty Seven instructed Cooley partners Jamie Leigh, Ben Beerle, Eric Jensen and John McKenna.
Legal advisor to Gilead Sciences: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Financial advisor to Gilead Sciences: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Legal advisor to Forty Seven: Cooley
Financial advisor to Forty Seven: Centerview Partners
Arjun Sajip
CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats has reinforced its equity capital markets practice with the arrival of new partner Bertrand Senechal.
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