Wragge & Co LLP's sector-focused Life Sciences Team has completed a €41 million cross-border life sciences deal for Japan's Eisai Co, Ltd.

Eisai has signed a commercialisation agreement with US-based Solstice Neurosciences, Inc. for NeuroBloc®. The agreement gives Eisai exclusive rights over 35 European countries. Under the deal, Solstice Neurosciences will receive up to €41 million in up-front and milestone payments.

Head of life sciences Pat Duxbury led the Wragge & Co team, assisted by director Luke Kempton. Partner Bernardine Adkins provided specialist antitrust advice. The team worked alongside Eisai European general counsel Simon Thomas.

Pat Duxbury said: "Life sciences is a fast-moving, international industry requiring legal advisers who understand the sector and have the ability and experience to handle complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions. At Wragge & Co, we have a sector-focused team providing clients with a partner-led service that marries technical expertise with industry insight."

NeuroBloc® is an injectible form of botulinum toxin type B, a purified formulation of the neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. It was approved for the treatment of cervical dystonia by the European Medicines Agency in January 2001.

Eisai is a research-based human health care company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. It employs more than 9,000 people worldwide. Wragge & Co's life sciences experts have previously advised Eisai on its acquisition of the European rights to the novel painkiller Prialt® for up to $100 million.

Solstice Neurosciences is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing, sales and marketing of speciality products. It was advised by US law firm Morgan Lewis.

Wragge & Co's six-partner Life Sciences Team delivers a unique mix of IP, corporate, antitrust, regulatory and dispute resolution advice to many of the sector's key players. It acts for a broad range of clients, from start-up to multinational, on a growing number of high-profile, cross-border collaborations and patent litigation cases.

Clients include AstraZeneca, Astex Therapeutics, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, the Medical Research Council, Prosidion, Unilever, Chroma Therapeutics, Cambridge Antibody Technology and 3i. Notable deals from the past 18 months include an alliance to discover, develop and commercialise anti-cancer agents for The Wellcome Trust Ltd and a $520 million licensing and drug discovery agreement for Astex Therapeutics. The team are representing a number of life sciences clients in patent and regulatory litigation.

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For further information about this press release, contact Kathryn Hobbs on +44 (0)121 685 2785, Amie Ryalls on +44 (0)121 685 2708 or Rebecca Davies on +44 (0)121 685 3819

This press release may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not give legal advice.