Foley Hoag LLP represented Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. (NYSE: DNA), which is building the leading platform for cell programming and biosecurity, in closing a collaboration agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim. Ginkgo and Boehringer Ingelheim will collaborate to mine Ginkgo's metagenomic sequence database, which provides access to a vast reservoir of structurally novel bioactive molecules, potentially enabling the rapid identification of lead molecules as starting points for the potential discovery of novel treatments to transform patients' lives.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Ginkgo will receive upfront research fees and is eligible to receive success-based research and development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments for a specified number of projects up to an aggregate total of $406 million. Ginkgo is also entitled to potential further downstream value in the form of royalties on sales.
Foley Hoag attorneys Sarah Cooleybeck, Mark Potash and Anna Cardoso represented Ginkgo, with assistance from Nicola Lemay, Alison Bauer, and Ivanna Bihun.