Launching a drug development company with novel technology from academia
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James R. McGarrah
Co-Founder and Senior Of Counsel
Jim is a co-founder of Faber and was a principal of the firm from its inception through 2021.
As Senior Of Counsel he continues to work with clients and helps the firm achieve its commitment to internal training and education for its growing team of lawyers and contracts specialists. Jim’s client work covers a wide range of agreements for pre-clinical research and related activities at companies and non-profit organizations in the life sciences. He focuses on licenses and research-based transactions that advance early-stage activities for novel therapeutic assets and applications for unique technologies. These agreements cover the spectrum from discovery to development and commercialization - evaluations, sponsored research, option rights and exclusive development and commercialization licenses.
Over his career, Jim negotiated several agreements governing multi-party consortia among industry and non-profit entities, sorting the respective interests and goals for the contributions of each party and providing advice on how to manage the results of joint work. He advises venture-backed companies about early stage agreements and assists in their negotiations with universities and non-profit research institutions for sponsored and collaborative research, licenses and options, emphasizing ways to align respective interests in research and the transfer of intellectual property from academia to industry.
Over his career, Jim negotiated several agreements governing multi-party consortia among industry and non-profit entities, sorting the respective interests and goals for the contributions of each party and providing advice on how to manage the results of joint work. He advises venture-backed companies about early stage agreements and assists in their negotiations with universities and non-profit research institutions for sponsored and collaborative research, licenses and options, emphasizing ways to align respective interests in research and the transfer of intellectual property from academia to industry.
More about Jim
Counsel
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited)
- Provided legal support for the company’s drug discovery activities and major corporate alliances
- Negotiated numerous multi-year, sponsored research collaborations with leading academic institutions involving multi-million-dollar research budgets
- Served as Millennium’s primary counselor on evolving issues in the areas of medical privacy and informed consent requirements for research
- Legal representative on business development initiatives to license discovery tools and early stage drug candidates, and to establish and conclude product-specific development programs
Counsel
The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) (now The J. Craig Venter Institute), one of the first non-profit research centers to incorporate novel technologies in large-scale gene discovery research.
- Established key parts of the legal framework for its activities with industry and academia
- Negotiated the terms of early stage research collaborations and agreements covering transfer of materials and confidential information, database access and publication of research results
- Member of the Institute’s Institutional Review Board; helped assure its compliance with applicable regulations and conditions of federal research grants
- Exclusive license agreements with Harvard University, Stanford University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of California system, University of Texas system, Dartmouth College, Yale University and Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research for portfolio companies of leading venture funds
- Collaboration and sponsorship agreements for staged research projects among multiple universities and a single disease-focused start-up company with significant federal funding
- Establish core principles and agreement terms for treatment of research results and collaborative research projects for newly established Boston-based non-profit research institute
- Development of template documents (material transfer, sponsored research and consulting) for multiple start-up companies
- Exclusive licenses and research agreements with academic centers in Italy, Germany and The Netherlands for U.S. based biopharmaceutical companies
- Sponsored research, subcontracts and collaborative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with NIH and U.S. defense agencies, universities and companies for clients with novel technologies and funding sources, including government grants and private grant programs
Counsel
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited)
- Provided legal support for the company’s drug discovery activities and major corporate alliances
- Negotiated numerous multi-year, sponsored research collaborations with leading academic institutions involving multi-million-dollar research budgets
- Served as Millennium’s primary counselor on evolving issues in the areas of medical privacy and informed consent requirements for research
- Legal representative on business development initiatives to license discovery tools and early stage drug candidates, and to establish and conclude product-specific development programs
Counsel
The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) (now The J. Craig Venter Institute), one of the first non-profit research centers to incorporate novel technologies in large-scale gene discovery research.
- Established key parts of the legal framework for its activities with industry and academia
- Negotiated the terms of early stage research collaborations and agreements covering transfer of materials and confidential information, database access and publication of research results
- Member of the Institute’s Institutional Review Board; helped assure its compliance with applicable regulations and conditions of federal research grants
- Exclusive license agreements with Harvard University, Stanford University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, University of California system, University of Texas system, Dartmouth College, Yale University and Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research for portfolio companies of leading venture funds
- Collaboration and sponsorship agreements for staged research projects among multiple universities and a single disease-focused start-up company with significant federal funding
- Establish core principles and agreement terms for treatment of research results and collaborative research projects for newly established Boston-based non-profit research institute
- Development of template documents (material transfer, sponsored research and consulting) for multiple start-up companies
- Exclusive licenses and research agreements with academic centers in Italy, Germany and The Netherlands for U.S. based biopharmaceutical companies
- Sponsored research, subcontracts and collaborative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with NIH and U.S. defense agencies, universities and companies for clients with novel technologies and funding sources, including government grants and private grant programs
Interested in working with Jim?
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