Standing The Test of Time: Important Considerations in Long-Term Partnering Transactions

Gil Labrucherie, Vice President of Corporate Legal, Nektar Therapeutics, USA

In the integrated global economy that has emerged over the last two decades, companies in all industries require a network of partners to discover, develop, manufacture, market, sell, supply and distribute products to global markets. Long-term strategic partnerships with high levels of interdependence can be among the best opportunities for a company to leverage and exploit its core capabilities and assets. However, these partnerships also present substantial challenges that require the highest level of practical and insightful legal counsel to guide their design, negotiation and day-to-day administration.

Gil M. Labrucherie joined Nektar in September 2005 as Vice President of Corporate Legal. Prior to joining Nektar, from October 2000 to September 2005, Mr. Labrucherie was Vice President of Corporate Development at E2open, Inc., where he was responsible for global corporate alliances and merger and acquisition activity. Prior to E2open, he was the Senior Director of Corporate Development at AltaVista Company, an Internet search company, where he was responsible for merger and acquisition transactions. Mr. Labrucherie began his career as an associate in the corporate practice of the law firms of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Graham & James (DLA Piper Rudnick). Mr. Labrucherie received his J.D. from the Berkeley Law School, where he was a member of the California Law Review and Order of the Coif, and received his B.A. from the University of California, Davis.

Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTR) is a leading biopharmaceutical company developing a robust pipeline of novel therapeutics based on its advanced polymer conjugate chemistry technology platform. Nektar also partners with many of the top biopharmaceutical companies to bring new products to market. To date, Nektar's technology and drug development expertise have enabled nine approved products for partners, including UCB's Cimzia(R) for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, Roche's PEGASYS(R) for hepatitis C and Amgen's Neulasta(R) for neutropenia.