Latham & Watkins Advises Novo Nordisk on Acquisition of Cardior Pharmaceuticals
Latham & Watkins LLP has advised a leading global healthcare company, Novo Nordisk, on the acquisition of Cardior Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the discovery and development of therapies that target RNA as a means to prevent, repair, and reverse diseases of the heart. The acquisition is an important step forward in Novo Nordisk’s strategy to establish a presence in cardiovascular disease.
Novo Nordisk has agreed to acquire Cardior for up to €1.025 billion, including an upfront payment and additional payments if certain development and commercial milestones are achieved. The agreement includes Cardior’s lead compound CDR132L, currently in phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of heart failure.
The closing of the acquisition is subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and is expected to happen in the second quarter of 2024.
The Latham team was led by Hamburg corporate healthcare and life sciences partner Henning C. Schneider, with Hamburg healthcare and life sciences regulatory partner Christoph Engeler, Frankfurt IP partner Susan Kempe-Mueller and corporate associates Andreas Holzgreve, Jana Maué, Edward Martin, Florian Brüggemann, and Antanas Grimalauskas. Advice was also provided on healthcare regulatory matters by associates Sara Patel and Henrietta Ditzen; on IP matters by associates Brett Shandler, Daniela Jaeger, Gracia Engwaya, and Ami Sodha; on data privacy matters by Frankfurt counsel Wolf-Tassilo Böhm and associate Jonas Kraus; on tax matters by Hamburg partner Tobias Klass; on FDI matters by Hamburg partner Jana Dammann de Chapto; on compliance matters by Hamburg counsel Stefan Bartz; on regulatory matters by Frankfurt counsel Joachim Grittmann and associate Markus Welzenbach; on employment matters by Munich partner Tobias Leder with associates Kristina Hufnagel and Christian Strauß; on real estate matters by Frankfurt counsel Sven Nickel with associate Marie-Christine Welp.