Davis Polk Advised GSK On Collaboration With Flagship Pioneering For Innovative Medicines And Vaccines
Davis Polk Advised GSK On Collaboration With Flagship Pioneering For Innovative Medicines And Vaccines
Davis Polk advised GSK plc on its agreement with Flagship Pioneering, Inc. to collaborate on discovering and developing a portfolio of transformative medicines and vaccines, focusing on respiratory and immunology.
The partnership involved GSK and Flagship investing up to $150 million upfront to support an exploration phase aimed at identifying the most promising concepts for further research and development through Flagship’s bio platform companies.
The collaboration sought to develop up to 10 novel medicines and vaccines, each subject to an exclusive option for further clinical development by GSK. Under the agreement, Flagship and its bio platform companies were eligible to receive up to $720 million in upfront, development, and commercial milestones from GSK, as well as preclinical funding and tiered royalties for each acquired program.
GSK is a global biopharma company dedicated to uniting science, technology, and talent to advance disease prevention and treatment. Flagship Pioneering, known for creating mRNA Covid-vaccine maker Moderna, specializes in inventing and building bio platform companies with transformative potential for human health and sustainability. Since its inception in 2000, Flagship had originated over 100 scientific ventures, achieving more than $75 billion in aggregate value. The firm had invested over $3.8 billion in founding and growing its pioneering companies, with additional follow-on investments exceeding $27 billion from other institutions.
The Davis Polk corporate team advising on this transaction comprised Partners William J. Chudd and Daniel Brass, along with Associates Rachel Schlosser and Chase Belford. Intellectual property advice was provided by Partner David R. Bauer, Counsel Samantha Lefland and Christopher C. Woller, and Associate Emma Willems.
Partner William A. Curran and Associate Constance Zhang handled tax matters. All members of the Davis Polk team were based in the New York office.
