Jennifer Ford is counsel in the firm's Technology & Life Sciences group. She represents biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, and other life science companies in a wide range of intellectual property, transactional, and commercial matters, including: strategic collaboration arrangements, research and development agreements, academic and commercial licenses, clinical trial collaboration and supply agreements, commercial manufacturing, supply, and distribution arrangements, promotion, marketing and commercialization arrangements, and M&A transactions.
Jennifer’s prior experience litigating at the firm on behalf of life sciences and technology companies in intellectual property-related disputes informs her counsel, especially with respect to the structuring and negotiation of settlement and license agreements related to Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA patent litigation. Jennifer also represents investors in performing intellectual property due diligence for private and public financings and mergers and acquisitions of life science companies.
EXPERIENCE
- Aldeyra in its exclusive option agreement with AbbVie regarding reproxalap; with a potential deal value in excess of $400 million plus royalties and a profit/loss share
- Deep Apple Therapeutics in its research collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement with Novo Nordisk, for up to $812 million
- Generate: Biomedicines in its multi-target collaboration with Novartis to develop protein therapeutics across multiple disease areas, for an upfront payment of $65 million and up to $1 billion in performance-based milestone payments
- Kymera Therapeutics in its exclusive option and license agreement with Gilead Sciences to develop novel oral molecular glue CDK2 degraders for an upfront payment of $85 million with potential milestone payments of up to $750 million
- Moderna in cross-border distribution agreements for its COVID-19 vaccine
- Moderna in its supply agreements for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine with governments around the world
- Orionis Biosciences in its second multi-year collaboration with Genentech, for an upfront payment of $105 million and up to $2 billion
- Orna Therapeutics in its license and collaboration agreement with Merck for up to $3.5 billion
- Schrödinger, in its drug discovery collaboration with Otsuka Pharmaceuticals
- Teva Pharmaceuticals, in its worldwide collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize fasinumab, with an upfront payment of $250 million, as well as ongoing research and development costs of approximately $1 billion
- Ultragenyx in its collaboration with Solid Biosciences for the development and commercialization of gene therapies; with a potential deal value of $255 million plus royalties
- Ultragenyx in its partnership with Daiichi Sankyo whereby Daiichi Sankyo acquired a license to Ultragenyx’s manufacturing platform; with a potential deal value in excess of $150 million plus royalties
- Wave Life Sciences in its strategic collaboration with GSK to advance oligonucleotide therapeutics, with potential deal value of over $3.3 billion
- AMAG Pharmaceuticals in the sale of its rights to Intrarosa® to Millicent Pharma for up to $125 million
- Dr. Reddy’s in its acquisition of Mayne Pharma’s US generic pharmaceuticals business
- Fresenius Medical Care Holdings in the acquisition of worldwide rights to Humacyte’s investigational human acellular vessel
- Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio™) in its definitive agreement with Biogen to be acquired for $1.15 billion upfront and up to $650 million in potential milestone payments
- Korro Bio in its definitive merger agreement with Frequency Therapeutics and concurrent $117 million financing
- The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of NantKwest in connection with NantKwest’s merger with Immunitybio
- Spark Therapeutics, in its $4.8 billion sale to Roche
- Teva Pharmaceuticals, in its sale of its specialty global women’s health business for a combined value of $2.5 billion, including sale of Paragard® business to CooperSurgical for $1.1 billion, ex-U.S. women’s health business to CVC Capital Partners for $703 million, and Plan B One-Step® franchise to Foundation Consumer Healthcare for $675 million
- Ultragenyx in its acquisition of GeneTx
Areas of Practice
Professional Activities
Jennifer is a member of the Boston Bar Association, the Boston Intellectual Property Law Association, and the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Credentials
Education
JD2011
Boston University School of Law
(Intellectual Property Concentration, with honors)
BS2008
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Admissions
Bars
- Massachusetts
Courts
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Recognition & Awards
Publications
Co-Author, “The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls,” Regulation Winter 2011/2012