Firm Receives Four Life Sciences Awards

Latham & Watkins has been named “Finance & Transactional Firm of the Year” and Silicon Valley partner Judith Hasko was named as a leading attorney at the 2015 LMG Life Sciences awards. The awards recognize individuals, firms and in-house counsel who have made a significant contribution towards the life science industry during the last 12 months. 

Further, the firm advised on two award-winning matters that were recognized as a “Collaboration Impact Deal of the Year” and a “M&A Impact Deal of the Year,” including:

• Actavis acquisition of Allergan – A broad team of transactional and litigation attorneys represented Allergan in its high-profile defense of a hostile takeover bid and the company’s eventual acquisition by Actavis plc for US$72 billion, the largest global M&A deal of the past year.
• Celgene agreement with Juno toward cancer cures – A team led from Silicon Valley represented Juno Therapeutics in its global collaboration with Celgene Corporation for the development and commercialization of immunotherapies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. The landmark strategic collaboration of these two major biopharma companies had a deal value of approximately US$1 billion. 

Hasko, global Chair of the firm’s Life Sciences Licensing Group, was honored as “Finance & Transactional Attorney of the Year,” recognizing another outstanding year representing life science clients and investors in a wide range of technology-based commercial transactions.