Life Sciences - General Corporate

McGuireWoods serves as counsel to a wide range of life sciences industry participants, from early-stage to publicly held companies, including pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology companies, contract research organizations (CRO), contract manufacturing companies, colleges and universities, and venture capital and private equity firms.

Our lawyers work closely with experienced healthcare and life sciences professionals at our public policy and government relations subsidiary, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, through which we also help provide effective communications with the press and the public. Our team at McGuireWoods Consulting includes former members of Congress and Congressional staff, a special assistant to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as former White House staff members from Republican and Democratic White House administrations.

Our lawyers’ experience covers every type of transaction involving life sciences companies, including facilitating complex mergers and acquisitions, financings, licensing agreements, joint ventures, and strategic partnering arrangements such as co-development, co-marketing and outsourced manufacturing-related agreements. Many client transactions cross borders and regulatory regimes. From our international offices and local counsel, we coordinate teams of business and legal professionals to help ensure that clients receive the right advice precisely when and where they need it.

When advising clients on transactional matters, we draw on our broad state, federal and international regulatory experience. We routinely work with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators to obtain the approval of new drugs, devices and biotechnology products, and we interact frequently with the governmental agencies that oversee the development, manufacture and sale of life sciences products. As a significant participant in the healthcare reform battles that led to passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, our team has helped clients protect their vital interests.

In addition, we counsel clients on entity formation, and review, recommend and negotiate financing options, as well as provide corresponding tax advice. We have negotiated a range of business agreements, including corporate and limited liability buy/sell agreements, stock option or other equity plans and agreements, and employment agreements. We have also drafted original confidentiality and noncompete agreements. As business counselors, we regularly attend board meetings to provide legal counsel to boards.

Other areas of concern for life sciences companies include issues involving corporate governance and governmental investigations. With former state attorneys general among our partners, we offer experienced, up-to-the-minute guidance on securities regulation and enforcement matters, as well as on government investigations. We regularly assist clients in developing responses to government subpoenas, complaints, investigations, inquiries and audits, as well as in combating product diversion and gray-market practices.

Back to top