AmLaw’s Litigator of the Week column included a shout-out for Keker, Van Nest & Peters and Bailey Heaps for defending Vividion Therapeutics’ founding chemist against claims he improperly diverted intellectual property in connection with the company’s $2 billion sale to Bayer Corp.
The private investor’s complaint argued that Vividion released rights to a patent that the founding chemist later licensed to a new startup, Belharra Therapeutics, leading to a lucrative financing deal. Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick dismissed the suit, concluding that the intellectual property claim was derivative in nature and therefore extinguished by the merger.
The shout out also included the Keker team members Jamie Slaughter, Laurie Carr Mims, Luke Apfeld and Elizabeth Heckmann, along with counsel for co-defendants.
Read AmLaw’s Litigator of the Week column here. (subscription required)
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