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Van W. Ellis

Partner

Washington +1 202 662 5734

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Van Ellis is a partner in Covington’s Life Sciences Licensing Group. He has more than 25 years of experience exclusively representing multinational and emerging companies in the life sciences field. Mr. Ellis advises biopharmaceutical, medical device, and digital health companies across the full range of transactions that arise during the life cycle of a product, including complex billion-dollar global collaborations; licensing transactions for development and commercialization; and a variety of commercial arrangements. He has advised on a wide range of biopharmaceutical products, including gene therapies (such as CAR-T products), immunotherapies, and vaccines (including multiple COVID-19 collaborations). He has also advised clients on a wide range of medical device technologies, ranging from implanted devices such as heart pumps, ocular lenses, drug-eluting stents, and intra-uterine devices; to wearables such as artificial limbs, advanced contact lenses, and neuro-stimulation devices; and to imaging devices, surgical instruments, and disease treatment technologies.

    Mr. Ellis is one of the transactional leaders of Covington’s multidisciplinary Digital Health Group. He has advised biopharmaceutical, high tech, and MedTech companies on a wide range of digital health products, tools, and services, including, cloud-based AI for use in diagnosing and preparing disease treatment plans; supercomputing-based AI as a tool in drug discovery and development; smartphone apps for patient use in managing disease states; wearable therapeutic devices connected to smartphone apps; and advanced algorithms for use by hospitals in identifying high risk patients.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters

    Bio-pharmaceutical

    • Janssen Biotech, Inc. on its collaboration with Legend Biotech Corp. for the development and commercialization of the CARVYKTI CAR-T gene therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
    • Merck & Co., Inc. on its collaboration with Orion Corporation to develop and commercialize an oral inhibitor of CYP11A1 for the treatment of certain cancers.
    • Merck & Co., Inc. on its collaboration with NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. to discover, develop and commercialize biologics across a range of therapeutic areas.
    • GlaxoSmithKline plc on its collaboration with Vir Biotechnology, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize anti-viral antibodies, including sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody for treatment of COVID-19.
    • GlaxoSmithKline on its collaboration with Surface Oncology, Inc. to exclusively license the development and commercialization rights to a human IgG1 antibody targeting CD112R.
    • GSK Biologicals SA on its collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur Inc. to develop and commercialize an adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine.
    • NewAmsterdam Pharma on its out-license to Menarini Group for the commercialization in Europe of obicetrapib for the treatment of hyperlipidemia.

    Digital Health

    • Bristol Myers Squibb in an agreement with Viz.ai to deploy an AI algorithm and provider workflow software intended to automatically review routine electrocardiograms, identify suspected cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and notify a cardiologist.
    • Astellas Pharma Inc. on a collaboration with Welldoc, Inc. to develop and commercialize digital health solutions, including a diabetes disease management app in Japan and certain other Asian markets, and digital therapeutics for certain other diseases on a global basis.
    • AstraZeneca in a collaboration with BrightInsight, Inc. to develop and commercialize a disease management platform digitally connecting patients and healthcare providers across multiple chronic diseases.

    Medical Device

    • A global medtech company in multiple investigator-initiated clinical trials and research arrangements for the development of radiotherapy technologies.
    • Alfred E. Mann Foundation on a collaboration with Medtronic to develop a next-generation implantable insulin pump.
    • Alfred E. Mann Foundation on a collaboration with Ossur to develop and commercialize implanted myoelectric sensors for use with mind-controlled prosthetic limbs.
    • Organ Recovery in multi-site clinical trials for the development of a device for transporting and perfusing donated livers for use in transplants.

     

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1994
    • Duke University, A.B., 1991
    Bar Admissions
    • District of Columbia
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. John Butzner, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
    Pro Bono
    • Van has represented, for many years, a number of organizations, including Horton's Kids, Inc. (a DC-based tutoring and mentoring organization serving children in Washington, DC's Anacostia neighborhood) and the national headquarters of PFLAG.
    Accolades
    • Legal 500 US, Healthcare: Life Sciences (2015, 2017)
    • LMG Life Sciences, Named a “Life Science Star” (2012-2015)
    • Recombinant Capital’s Breakthrough Alliance Award Nominee, Infinity Pharmaceuticals' collaboration with MedImmune to develop and commercialize small molecule cancer drugs (Represented Infinity Pharmaceuticals) (2006)
    • 1999 Award Winner, Bayer AG's drug discovery alliance with Millennium Pharmaceuticals (Represented Bayer AG)
    Previous Experience
    • Van was an Associate General Counsel at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), a non-profit biomedical research organization with an endowment of over $16 billion. Van advised HHMI on research collaborations, spin-outs, licensing, and other legal matters arising at 85 academic research laboratories located at 12 research universities and medical centers, including HHMI’s laboratories at Yale, MIT, NYU, Rockefeller, UCSF, UCSD, and the Salk Institute. Van also oversaw the development and implementation of policies governing the conduct of clinical trials and other human subjects research, and advised on the formation and launch of a joint venture in South Africa to research co-infection of HIV and tuberculosis.

    Areas of Expertise

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