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BIOTECH LAW
LOCAL LAW FIRMS
ANSWER BIOBELT'S CALL FOR DEEPER CAPACITY IN SERVICE TO BIOTECH
INDUSTRY.
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By C.B. Adams
In September 2000, the RCGA released a commissioned study titled
“Plant and Life Sciences Strategies for St. Louis: The Technology
Gateway for the 21st Century,” prepared by the Technology Partnership
Practice and Battelle Memorial Institute. The report summarized,
“The St. Louis region, unlike other leading competitor plant and
life sciences regions, has an established leadership position in
biomedical-related research and development, plant science, and
agriculture-related biotechnology research and development upon
which to build a highly robust and diversified plant and life sciences
industry base.”
THOMAS
M. WALSH
president,
Suelthaus & Walsh, P.C. |
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The report included five strategies to strengthen St. Louis as a
major, leading-edge plant and life sciences center. One of the strategies
called for the creation of an “entrepreneurial culture that supports
and nurtures new firms in plant and life sciences.” Another called
for a “progressive business climate to foster and sustain the growth
of the region’s plant and life sciences industries.”
These calls for deeper capacity in the services related to the biotechnology
industry included specialized legal services to accommodate the
growing need for such services here in the heart of the emerging
BioBelt. Since the report, local law firms have begun to expand
their services to include legal assistance in areas such as venture
capital and intellectual property rights in agribusiness, ag biotechnology
and food processing.
“There
is obviously a big focus in this region on human, animal and plant
biotech science companies. There has definitely been growth in biotech
with the formation of the Center for Emerging Technologies (CET),
the NIDUS Center for Scientific Enterprise and the Donald Danforth
Plant Science Center. As a result, there has also been growth in
the venture capital community in St. Louis in the past three to
five years,” says Thomas M. Walsh, president of Suelthaus & Walsh,
P.C.
“I
think the capacity locally has always been here, but
perhaps it hasn’t been recognized. Certainly companies
outside of St. Louis in the venture capital area may
have bigger names on a national or international scale
in biotech, but the capacity has always been here.”
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Powell
Carman
partner, Bryan Cave LLP
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According to Powell Carman, partner at Bryan Cave LLP and leader
of its agribusiness, ag biotech and food processing practice group,
this group has doubled to 40 lawyers in the past three years. Powell
himself spent several years working in the agricultural chemical
field before attending law school. Matters handled by the group
include:
- Regulatory
(environmental, advertising, food labeling and regulation)
issues
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Domestic and international mergers
and acquisitions
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Commercial finance
(lenders and borrowers)
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Licensing (in and out)
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Funded research agreements
and collaborations
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Antitrust and merger consulting
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Real estate transaction
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Formation issues for start-ups on
venture capital, commercial and
intellectual property
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“I think the
capacity locally has always been here, but perhaps it hasn’t been
recognized,” Powell says. “Certainly companies outside of St. Louis
in the venture capital area may have bigger names on a national
or international scale in biotech, but the capacity has always been
here.”
Powell recalls a local CEO who complained about the accessibility—or
inaccessibility—of his out-of-town lawyers. He had to fly to their
office in order to meet with them.
“I reminded him that there are very good law firms here that have
the capacity and experience in biotech. If you deal with lawyers
whom you may also run into at the grocery store or church, you may
find them a little more accessible,” he says.
Suelthaus & Walsh has also grown its intellectual and property law
and technology section practice group in recent years, according
to John W. Kepler, chair of this section practice group.
“Law is becoming more specialized just as the needs of our biotech
clients are becoming more specialized. Our latest hire in my practice
group is someone who has a biology degree. We are also actively
looking for candidates to join our intellectual property practice
group who have biotech skills through their undergraduate or graduate
degrees or business experience,” Kepler says.
“Law
is becoming more specialized just as the needs of
our biotech clients are becoming more specialized.”
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John
W. Kepler
principal & chairman,
Suelthaus & Walsh, P.C.
Intellectual Property Law
and Technology Protection
Practice Group
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Different biotech clients require different types of service, depending
on their size. For instance, large, established firms typically
have in-house legal teams who turn to outside firms for specialized
assistance. Conversely, small startups may include only a few individuals
who are seeking a lawyer who can play a number of positions for
them, according to Powell.
“Because they have limited money or time, they want one lawyer who
can get the work they want done efficiently and who can help them
prioritize their legal needs, such as when to seek patent protection,
when to incorporate and in what form, when they need to start raising
venture capital. It is a much more personal relationship, and it
is a broader relationship because they are looking for a lawyer
who can handle a lot of different needs and help them prioritize
when these needs should be met,” Powell says.
Marcia Mellitz, president of the CET, says many of the local professional
service providers, including lawyers, bankers and accountants, have
shown more interest in the issues surrounding technology companies.
The CET recently polled the leaders of its companies to find out
what types of information they were interested in. Then the CET
invited professionals to make presentations during the “training
sessions,” which were held almost weekly last fall.
“What we are finding is that there are a lot of lawyers and other
professional service providers who are attending these sessions
to learn, not particularly to get business. Through our training
sessions, Technology Gateway meetings, and networking and other
kinds of informational meetings, we are seeing there is a real attempt
in the community for people to become more educated about the issues
these companies face,” she says.
Walsh believes there is a growing symbiotic relationship between
new and established biotech companies and the local legal community.
“With the continued emphasis in the region on the building of a
biotech industry in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area—and that extends
all the way to Columbia and to southwestern Illinois—there will
certainly be a number of new companies forming. We would like to
represent our fair share and we look forward to growing along with
the industry in that regard,” he says.
C.B. Adams is a St. Louis-based writer and adjunct faculty member
at University of Missouri—St. Louis and St. Charles Community College.
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