Healthcare & Life Sciences Transactions

Our Technology & IP Transactions Practice Group includes nearly 90 deal lawyers dedicated to strategic commercial agreements and M&A matters for which intangible assets are a critical component. We have extensive experience advising clients, from biotech start-ups to global market leaders, on the full range of life sciences/biopharma transactions—including M&A, licensing, collaboration and other strategic commercial agreements. Our work spans development agreements, university collaborations, technology transfers, joint ventures and product line acquisitions and divestitures. Because many deals are driven by the value of intangible assets, we work closely with Kirkland’s M&A teams to integrate our technical capabilities into clients’ broader strategic and commercial goals. 

We have extensive experience advising clients on collaboration agreements to develop or commercialize new technologies, products and services in the life sciences/biopharma sector. This includes negotiating development, collaboration and supply agreements, often coupled with licenses for drugs, therapies, diagnostics, devices and other technologies with significant commercialization potential. Our significant experience with a wide variety of licensing and strategic commercial agreements provides us with insights on all aspects of these agreements, including structuring of milestones, royalties and governance. As a full-service firm, we can also address the impact of related regulatory frameworks and laws on licenses, including tax, antitrust and bankruptcy. Our team’s in-depth knowledge of the life sciences/biopharma sector, including the full range of life sciences technologies and their scientific foundations, allows us to effectively work with clients and their business, legal and scientific teams to identify issues and solutions in these complex transactions and support strategic paths from discovery to commercialization.

Kirkland’s Healthcare & Life Sciences Regulatory Practice Group has extensive experience in advising clients on a diverse array of critical matters, including federal and multi-state considerations, precise structuring and pivotal statutes like the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, state anti-kickback laws, and the Federal False Claims Act. The team regularly provides counsel on intricate regulatory concerns related to Medicare, Medicaid, fraud and abuse and HIPAA, and has noteworthy experience in federal and state licensure, the corporate practice doctrine (medicine, dentistry, etc.), physician practices, hospital facility compliance, provider enrollment and reimbursement matters. Additionally, our attorneys guide clients through the complex landscape of healthcare IT, healthcare-related privacy, data security, breach notification and interoperability laws.

The Healthcare & Life Sciences Regulatory group adeptly handles everyday regulatory considerations that significantly affect healthcare and life sciences companies and vendors, including pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, clinical research, sales, marketing, compliance and market exclusivity concerns. Drawing from extensive experience in both buy- and sell-side transactions, our team possesses the capacity to scrutinize regulatory matters from dual perspectives, effectively streamlining the transaction process.