Hemmie Chang

Partner, Co-Chair, Life Sciences Group; Chair, Licensing & Strategic Alliances Practice - Boston

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As Chair of Foley Hoag's Licensing & Strategic Alliances Practice, partner Hemmie Chang regularly handles high profile intellectual property matters. Clients routinely benefit from Hemmie's strategic business perspective and legal acumen from her two-plus decades of experience within the bio pharmaceutical, medical device, gene and cell therapy and genomics sectors. She advises both established and emerging companies on a wide variety of licensing matters, from development to marketing deals - all of which involve a broad range of intellectual property assets, from patents to trade secrets, brand names to copyright. Hemmie is also Co-Chair of the Life Sciences Group and active within the firm’s Business Department and Technology practice groups.

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Education:

  • Harvard Law School, J.D.
  • Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs, A.B.

Representative Experience

Represents clients in collaboration and licensing transactions and investments with major pharmaceutical and emerging high-growth companies, and successfully counsels clients on investments, mergers and acquisitions and financings in energy and renewables (solar, wind) and other projects, including:

  • Represented Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) in a collaboration with Zealand Pharma in a $650+ million collaboration peptide deal with Zealand Pharma. 
  • Represented LegoChem Bio in a $400+ million multi-target research collaboration and license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. 
  • Represented LG Chem Life Sciences in a $900+ million multi-target, strategic collaboration announced in November 2018 with CUE Biopharma that provides LG Chem with the Asia rights to Cue Biopharma’s lead immuno-oncology CUE-101 program, and products in the two other CUE-102 and CUE-103 programs as well as a worldwide option for another antigen focused biologic.
  • Represented Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRNA) in three collaborations (two announced in October 2018 and one last November 2017) totaling over $4.5 billion in potential deal value and $250 million in upfront and equity investments: (i) global licensing and research collaboration with Eli Lilly focused on potential new medicines in the areas of cardio-metabolic disease, neurodegeneration and pain; (ii) collaboration with Alexion Pharmaceuticals to discover and develop RNA interference therapies for complement-mediated diseases; and (iii) research deal with Boehringer Ingelheim to discover and develop novel GalXC™ RNAi therapeutics for the treatment of chronic liver diseases, initially nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
  • Represented Korean pharmaceutical company Dong-A ST in its $525 million exclusive license agreement for the global development and commercialization of its investigational immuno-oncology drug Mer tyrosine kinase inhibitor (Mer TKI) with U.S. pharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc.
  • Represented Genomics Medicine Ireland Ltd. (GMI) in its 15-year partnership with pharmaceutical company AbbVie Ireland and WuXi NextCode to conduct population genomics research in Ireland and examine potential genetic triggers for major chronic diseases. GMI's investors included ARCH Venture Partners, Polaris Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, and corporate partner Amgen and its subsidiary deCODE genetics.
  • Advised clinical-stage pharmaceutical company Calithera Biosciences, Inc. on the IP aspects of its global license agreement with Incyte, granting Incyte exclusive rights to research, develop and commercialize TransTech's portfolio of hexokinase II inhibitors.
  • Represented U.K.-based biopharmaceutical company PrEP Biopharm Limited in a £21 million (approximately US$32 million) Series A financing round, led by a large publicly traded U.K. clinical research organization and top pharma venture investor, to complete development of a compound designed to help patients with respiratory viral infections in-licensed from the pharma investor’s affiliate.
  • Represented biotechnology company Chromocell Corporation in its collaboration and licensing agreement with Astellas Pharma Inc. to develop and commercialize new therapies to treat neuropathic pain. Under the collaboration, Chromocell is eligible to receive upfront and milestone payments exceeding $500 million plus royalties.
  • Advised Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: AGTC) in one of the largest publicly announced gene therapy deals, a $1+ billion collaboration with equity investment and manufacturing agreements with Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB).
  • Advised Microchips Biotech, Inc. in a $35 million upfront partnership with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., under which the companies will explore ways to apply Microchip Biotech's implantable drug delivery device to Teva’s line of products.
  • Represented Applied Genetic Technologies (NASDAQ: AGTC) in its recent initial public and follow on offerings of common stock raising over US $80 million, after previously completing a $37.5 million Series B financing with Alta Partners, S.R. One, InterWest Partners, MedImmune Ventures and Intersouth Partners.
  • Advised NextCODE Health, LLC (organized by deCODE/AMGEN founders, ARCH and Polaris) in its sale of its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, NextCODE Health Luxembourg, S.a.r.l. to WuXi Genomics, Inc. 
  • Negotiated on behalf of OliPass Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing antisense medicines based on peptide nucleic acid (PNA) technology, in its strategic partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY).
  • Advised medical diagnostics company Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR) on licensing and intellectual property matters in its $600 million sale of the Alere Health division to healthcare company Optum.
  • Advised lead investors Alopexx and Inventages (Nestlé’s venture capital arm) in $15.6M Series D financing of emerging medical device company Cognoptix (formerly Neuroptix Corporation), targeting the early detection of Alzheimer's disease.
  • Advised Good Start Genetics, Inc. in a collaboration agreement for prenatal and other tests with PerkinElmer, Inc.
  • Represented Zosano Pharma, Inc. in its agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S to develop a new transdermal presentation of semaglutide.
  • Advised Living Proof, Inc., in its global venture with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. to develop, distribute and commercialize products for aesthetic dermatology.
  • Assisted NextCODE Health with securing an exclusive license for sequence-based clinical diagnostic applications using technology developed by deCODE genetics, and also with securing $15 million in Series A financing from Polaris Partners and ARCH Venture Partners.
  • Advised High Performance Optics in its exclusive and global license agreement with Essilor.
  • Successfully advised Metamark Genetics-Janssen Biotech in an early stage discovery collaboration deal in cancer - the largest at the time (up to $365 million in milestone payments).
  • Worked on the development and supply agreement of robotic surgical instruments for the U.S. subsidiary of a major Japanese conglomerate.
  • Crafted an early stage discovery and equity investment biofuels deal with a major European partner.
  • Represented Arisaph Pharmaceuticals in a major reset of royalty and other payments to monetize $26.25 million in upfront and ongoing payments from Royalty Pharma.
  • Represented Bioneer, a Korean public biotech, in a siNRA research collaboration with Sanofi.
  • Worked on the Translational Therapeutics Inc.-Clavis Pharma, Inc. oncology candidate in-license (named BioWorld International Deal of the Week; May 2011).
  • Spinoff of assets (e.g. Bayer Healthcare oncology assets programs, IntElect Medical deep brain stimulation technology from from one of the top five U.S. ranked hospitals).
  • Advised on early stage development deals for NYU spinoff with Medtronic, NuVasive and Stryker, agreements with Life Technologies and Illumina and option and development deals with GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and research collaboration with AstraZeneca.
  • Advise on numerous academic licenses from Harvard, MIT, Whitehead Institute, Johns Hopkins and UCSF.

Professional Experience

  • Biotechnology Industry Organization, Moderator and Speaker
  • Licensing Executives Society, Moderator and Speaker
  • Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Faculty
  • Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Faculty

Foley Hoag Alerts & Updates

Honors

  • Listed in New England Super Lawyers Magazine (2013, 2014)
  • Articles Editor, Harvard Law Review
  • Phi Beta Kappa, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Involvement

  • Recently worked on a pro bono matter with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), filing an amicus brief in U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 21 Asian American groups and 44 higher education faculty and officials to uphold the University of Texas at Austin’s freshman affirmative action admissions policy. A 4-3 majority decision was reached in June 2016 to uphold the policy, which was in its second round of litigation before the nation’s highest court. 
  • South Cove Manor, Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Inc. and South Cove Nursing Facilities Foundation, Board Member and Secretary
  • Franklin Square House Foundation, Board Member
  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), Member
  • The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Advisory Group on Undergraduate Education, Member
  • Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, Founding Director
  • Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence, Founding Director
  • "New Venture Competition Legal Series: Intellectual Property and Strategic Licensing," Harvard Business School (February 2017) 
  • "Licensing Trends: What’s New/What’s Hot?," Boston Bar Association Life Sciences Conference (November 2016) 
  • "Strategic Alliances and Joint Ventures," New England Mass Forum (October 2016) 
  • "Current and Future Opportunities in Gene and Cell Therapies," Bio Network West (October 2016) 
  • "Top U.S. Licensing & Regulatory Issues," Korea-US Cooperative Conference for Life Science (September 2016)
  • "Exploring the Latest Innovative Deal Structures and the Evolution of Traditional Licensing and M&A," Bio Network East (May 2016)
  • "A Day in the Life of the Office of the Corporate Secretary," NAPABA Northeast Regional Conference (October 2015)
  • “Assessing Value and Translating Priorities into Deal Terms,” (LES) 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting (October 2014)
  • “Exploring Alternative Sources of Early Stage Funding,” BioNetwork West (October 2014)
  • “How to Structure and Negotiate Deals in the U.S. for the Best Economic and Legal Results,” BIO International (June 2014)
  • "Entering the U.S. Healthcare Market," presentation for Korean Biopharmaceutical Companies (May 2014)
  • "Licensing Boot Camp: Intellectual Property & the Business of Biotech," Endicott College (March 2014)
  • "Creating Successful Life Sciences Partnerships," Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (February 2014)
  • "Licensing Both Ways: Advancing Developments Today While Preserving Rights Tomorrow," Greentown Labs (August 2013)
  • "Exploring Opportunities to Strengthen Your Patent Portfolio Through Licensing," American Conference Institute’s 4th Advanced Summit on Biosimilars (June 2013)
  • "Innovation California Style: How are West Coast Companies Getting from Bench to Product," Licensing Executives Society (LES) Spring Meeting (May 2013)
  • "Can You Reap What You Sow? How the Necessity of Acquiring Early-Stage Assets Can Also Be Win-Win," BIO International (April 2013)
  • "Breaking Down the Tenets Of A True Early-Stage Partnership," BioNetwork East (April 2013)
  • "The Current State of Healthcare & Bioscience Venture Capital, Private Equity & M&A Activity," New England Healthcare Executive Network (NEHEN) (November 2012)
  • “Option to License Deals: finding a Winning Balance,” Licensing Executives Society (LES) Annual Meeting (October 2012)
  • “Partnering a Platform Technology Today When Companies Want a Drug Tomorrow,” BioNetwork West (October 2012)
  • “What’s New in Licensing: America Invents Act and Other Recent Developments,”  BioWorld.com Webinar (September 2012)
  • “Sunbeam Products: New Case Law for Trademarks in Bankruptcy TeleBriefing,” Law Seminars International Webinar (September 2012)
  • “Corporate Partnering deals and other non-equity sources of capital (including gov’t grants),” MassChallenge Panel (August 2012)
  • “Licensing Back to the Future: Understanding Option Licenses to Advance Developments Today While Preserving Rights Tomorrow,” BIO International (June 2012)
  • “Finding the Right Time to Partner: Can you Maximize Value While Balancing Risk and Reward?,” Licensing Executives Society (LES) Spring Meeting (May 2012)
  • “Perspectives of Innovative Small Companies on the Industry’s Prospects for 2012 and Beyond,” American Conference Institute (ACI) (February 2012)
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Bar Admissions

  • Massachusetts
  • District of Columbia
  • Practising Solicitor, England and Wales