James C. Snipes

James Snipes is a partner in the firm’s corporate practice and a former chair of the life sciences industry group.  For the past twenty years, Mr. Snipes’s practice has focused on corporate and transactional matters for life sciences clients ranging from private, venture-backed biotech companies to multinational pharmaceutical companies.  The focus of his practice is strategic collaborations and complex licensing transactions; acquisitions and divestitures; spin-outs; venture investments; and commercial agreements in the biopharmaceutical industry.  Mr. Snipes’s international practice experience includes a stint as head of Covington’s corporate group in London and two years at one of Tokyo’s leading corporate law firms.

Mr. Snipes also advises a number of public and private companies and venture capital firms in the technology sector.  Further, he is a recognized authority in the field of art law, with broad experience in resolving disputes involving Holocaust claims, cultural patrimony claims, and other collections-related issues.

Representative Matters

• Representation of Pfizer Inc. in a worldwide $1 billion collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize Apixaban, an anticoagulant, with Bristol-Myers Squibb; and in a worldwide collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb to conduct Phase III development and commercialization of DGAT-1 inhibitors with potential applications for the treatment of metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes.
• Representation of Gilead Sciences in a series of transactions with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck for the worldwide development and commercialization of a triple combination antiretroviral drug, including various corporate and contractual arrangements for supply and distribution in the United States; the European Union; and the access countries. 
• Asahi Kasei Pharma Corporation, a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company, in the spin-out of a late stage clinical product to a new company, Artisan Therapeutics, Inc., and simultaneous $39 million venture financing of Artisan.
• Representation of the Institute for OneWorld Health, a non-profit dedicated to developing new drugs for neglected diseases, in negotiating research collaborations with academic institutions, including UCSF and UC Berkeley; license and supply agreements with commercial entities, including Amyris Biotechnologies; and the acquisition of intellectual property assets.
• Representation of Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals in a strategic alliance with ARYx Therapeutics to develop a novel compound for the treatment of GERD and gastroparesis.  Payments by P&G under the deal could reach $435 million, including a $25 million upfront fee.
• Representation of the National Academies of Sciences/Institute of Medicine in the preparation of industry-standard templates for a Material Transfer Agreement and Clinical Trial Agreement.

Honors and Rankings

• Chambers USA - America's Leading Business Lawyers, Life Sciences/Corporate/Commercial (2007-2013) 
• Best Lawyers in America, Biotechnology Law (2008-2014)
• LMG Life Sciences, "Life Science Star" (2013) 
• IAM Patent 1000 - The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners (2012)
• Northern California Super Lawyers, Business/Corporate (2006-2011)
• Practical Law Company, Survey of Life Sciences Lawyers (2005-2012)  

Pro Bono

• Representation of the Institute for OneWorld Health on various corporate matters.

Memberships and Affiliations

• Bar Association of San Francisco, Past Director

Publications and Speeches

• BIO Annual Meeting, Business Development Track (2004)
• ABA General Meeting, Technology Track (2004)
• BIO GC Committee (2003)

• "California Will Negotiate Drug Prices with Manufacturers in New Discount Drug Program," Covington E-Alert (10/9/2006), Co-Author