With the kickoff of the Biotech Week Boston event series, local partners Michael Barron, Laurie Burlingame, and Stephen Altieri bring attention to the process of licensing a discovery from a university. As legal advisors, their insights are invaluable to biotech companies and investors who engage in these transactions.
Licensing a discovery involves several complexities. The nature of these complexities further depends on the lifecycle stage of the company that’s receiving the license. Certain challenges are more pronounced for start-ups, while others are specific to entities in their growth phase or beyond.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of such transactions is understanding the implications of the underlying rights contracted. Universities normally retain a portion of royalty entitlements from any developed products or services. Interestingly, the extent of this royalty or the frequency of its application often becomes a subject of negotiation.
Furthermore, disputes over these rights are not uncommon. The lack of clarity over language in license agreements frequently leads to disagreements over the interpretation of certain terms. These disputes often result in lawsuits, which entail additional costs and can lead to disruptions in operations.
Resolving such disputes can be complex and requires the measured expertise of experienced legal professionals. To provide further insights into this area and the wider dynamics of the biotech sector, the featured lawyers from Morgan Lewis’ Boston office will be sharing their experiences and observations throughout the week-long event.
The insights shared through the week will undoubtedly be indispensable to legal professionals who are deeply involved with the biotech industry. The bloggers’ on-ground perspectives, drawn from their collaborations with local biotech companies and investors, are set to deliver industry-focused insights that are often hard to find.
For more detailed discussion on these insights, follow the Biotech Week Boston event series and their noted lawyers on JD Supra.