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Jessica Milner is special counsel in the New York office. In her practice, she evaluates intellectual property issues and provides advice to entrepreneurs, investors, and emerging and established companies on the development and commercialization of technologies in a wide range of industries. Ms. Milner has specific experience counseling pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in connection with licensing, collaboration, and other strategic arrangements. She also regularly conducts due diligence assessments and advises on the intellectual property aspects of mergers, acquisitions, corporate financings and other business transactions. Ms. Milner maintains a commitment to public service and to strengthening New York City as a center of entrepreneurship.
Ms. Milner is a patent attorney registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- AstraZeneca in its licensing arrangement with LEO Pharma for the development and commercialization of the antibody tralokinimab for atopic dermatitis and other skin diseases, which arrangement provided for an up-front payment of $115 million and additional milestones of up to $1 billion.
- An early-stage biotechnology company in securing from a large, public university an exclusive license to genetic engineering technology.
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in its global collaboration with Sanofi to develop novel antibody-based immuno-oncology treatments.
- Illumina, Inc. in its acquisition of Verinata Health, Inc. for cash consideration of $350 million plus up to $100 million in milestone payments through 2015.
- Thomson Reuters Corporation in the divestiture of its Healthcare business to affiliates of Veritas Capital for $1.25 billion in cash.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in its all-cash acquisition of Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for $325 million upfront and potential additional milestone payments totaling $150 million.
- National Geographic Society in the sale of its Hampton Brown school publishing business to Cengage Learning, Inc.
- An emerging biotechnology company in private placements of over $27 million in senior convertible notes and warrants and in a $22 million Series A preferred stock financing.
- A technology-based early-stage company in developing its key commercial agreements.
- Various pharmaceutical companies on the listing of patents in the Food and Drug Administration's “Orange Book” and in complying with the requirements of the Bayh-Dole Act.
Pro Bono
- Prepared website terms of use and privacy policy for a socially conscious job-search website start-up company.
- Drafted database system intellectual property assignment and license agreement for a non-profit corporation dedicated to the support and guidance of aging-in-place initiatives.
- Empire State Counsel Honoree, New York State Bar Association (2008-2015)
Memberships and Affiliations
- Served as a long-term member of the board of directors of Coalition for Queens, a not-for-profit corporation fostering a tech entrepreneurial ecosystem in the borough of Queens in New York City through education, advocacy, and partnerships.
Previous Experience
- Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, Student Attorney (2004-2006)
May 21, 2019
WASHINGTON—Covington advised Merck & Co., Inc., in its definitive agreement under which Merck, through a subsidiary, will acquire privately held Peloton Therapeutics, Inc. in exchange for an upfront payment of $1.05 billion in cash. In addition, Peloton shareholders will be eligible to receive a further $1.15 billion contingent upon successful achievement of ...
Entrepreneurship, Investment and the Greater Good
April 9, 2016, Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project 2016 Conference
Covington Announces New Counsel
April 1, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC — Covington has promoted eight lawyers to of counsel and eight to special counsel, effective April 1, 2016. The new of counsel are as follows: Stefanie Doebler (Washington) focuses her practice on health care compliance matters for pharmaceutical and medical device clients. She provides advice related to advertising and promotion, fraud and abuse, ...
July 29, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, July 29, 2015 – Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) have entered into a new global collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize new antibody cancer treatments in the field of immuno-oncology. Sanofi has committed to an initial investment of up to $2.17 billion in the exclusive collaboration, including $640 million in ...
June 18, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC, June 18, 2015 — Covington advised Allergan plc in its acquisition of KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. for consideration having a fixed value of $75 per KYTHERA share, or approximately $2.1 billion, which will be paid 80 percent in cash and 20 percent in Allergan shares issued to KYTHERA shareholders. KYTHERA is a biopharmaceutical company ...
October 7, 2014
LONDON, 7 October, 2014 — Covington & Burling advised Horizon Discovery Group plc, an AIM listed international life science company supplying research tools and services to organizations engaged in genomics research and the development of personalized medicines, on the acquisition of Sage Labs Inc. for a total of approximately $48 million (£29 million), ...
Covington Advises BBVA in Acquisition of Simple
February 20, 2014
NEW YORK, February 20, 2014 — Covington & Burling represented Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, an international financial group based in Spain, in its acquisition of financial technology company Simple. The acquisition is part of BBVA's strategy to lead the technology-driven change that is transforming the financial services industry. According to Francisco ...
Covington Lawyers Recognized by New York Super Lawyers
9/18/2013
NEW YORK, September 18, 2013 — New York Super Lawyers selected 36 Covington & Burling lawyers for its 2013 list of top legal talent. Super Lawyers selects no more than five percent of the total lawyers in the state based on peer review and the publication’s independent research. Twenty-three Covington lawyers were named New York Super Lawyers: • Martin ...
Covington Advises MedImmune in Acquisition of Amplimmune
August 26, 2013
NEW YORK, August 26, 2013 — Covington & Burling is advising MedImmune, AstraZeneca’s global biologics research and development arm, on the acquisition of Amplimmune, a privately held biologics company focused on developing novel therapeutics in cancer immunology. Under the terms of the merger agreement, MedImmune will acquire Amplimmune shares for an initial ...
Covington Advises MyPublisher in Shutterfly Merger
May 1, 2013
NEW YORK, May 1, 2013 — Covington & Burling advised MyPublisher, Inc., in its merger with Shutterfly, Inc., the leading digital retailer of personalized photo products. MyPublisher is one of the pioneers of high quality printed photo albums. The acquisition will combine MyPublisher's photo book technology and highly specialized manufacturing capabilities with ...
Covington Advises Grupo Sura in $516 Million Acquisition
4/23/2013
NEW YORK, April 23, 2013 — Covington & Burling advised Sura Asset Management S.A. and AFP Integra S.A., affiliates of the Latin American financial group Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana, in a joint acquisition with Profuturo AFP S.A., an affiliate of The Bank of Nova Scotia, of 100 percent of the shares of AFP Horizonte, S.A., the Peruvian pension fund manager, ...
January 7, 2013
NEW YORK, January 7, 2013 — Covington & Burling advised Illumina, Inc. on its announced acquisition of Verinata Health, Inc. for cash consideration of $350 million plus up to $100 million in milestone payments through 2015. Upon completion of the acquisition, Illumina will have access to the Verinata’s verifi® prenatal test, the broadest non-invasive prenatal ...
November 28, 2012
NEW YORK, November 28, 2012— Covington & Burling is advising Grupo Financiero Banorte S.A.B. de C.V., and its affiliate Afore XXI Banorte, S.A. de C.V., in a $1.6-billion acquisition of Afore Bancomer, S.A. de C.V. from the Spanish bank, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., which would create Mexico’s largest pension fund. Afore Bancomer is Mexico’s second ...
4/23/2012
NEW YORK, April 23, 2012 — Covington & Burling represented Thomson Reuters in a definitive agreement to sell its Healthcare business to an affiliate of Veritas Capital for $1.25 billion in cash. The sale, expected to close in the next few months, is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of ...
July 22, 2011
NEW YORK, July 22, 2011 — Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Amira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., have reported that the companies have signed a definitive agreement under which Bristol-Myers Squibb will acquire privately held Amira Pharmaceuticals. Covington & Burling LLP represented Bristol-Myers Squibb in the transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, ...
July 5, 2011
NEW YORK, July 5, 2011 — Covington & Burling LLP represented Microsoft Corp. in the $4.5 billion winning bid in the auction of Nortel Networks Corporation’s 6000 patents and patent applications. A consortium of Microsoft and several other technology companies will share Nortel’s 4G wireless, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, service provider, ...
June 29, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC, June 29, 2011 — Covington & Burling LLP represented National Geographic Society in its agreement with Cengage Learning to sell its digital and print school publishing unit and to extend additional rights to use the National Geographic brand in higher education and library markets worldwide. National Geographic’s school publishing unit includes ...
February 22, 2011
NEW YORK, February 22, 2011 — Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) and Clinical Data, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA) announced today that they have entered into a merger agreement pursuant to which Forest will acquire Clinical Data, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of first-in-class and best-in-category therapeutics. Covington & Burling LLP ...
1/6/2011
NEW YORK, January 6, 2011 — Charlesbank Capital Partners has announced that it has acquired Peacock Engineering Company, LLC, a leading provider of outsourced food packaging and supply chain management services to many of the nation’s largest branded consumer products companies, from Behrman Capital. The terms of the transaction, which closed on December 21, ...
- New York Super Lawyers, Intellectual Property "Rising Star" (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)