Freshfields advises Novartis on its exclusive license agreement with Arvinas for a potential first-in-class prostate cancer treatment

Freshfields advises Novartis on its exclusive strategic license agreement with Arvinas, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, for the global development and commercialization of ARV-766, Arvinas’ second generation PROTAC® androgen receptor (AR) degrader for prostate cancer patients. An asset purchase agreement for the sale of Arvinas’ preclinical AR-V7 program to Novartis is also included in the transaction.

Arvinas will receive an upfront payment in the aggregate amount of $150 million. Under the license agreement, Arvinas will be eligible to receive additional development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments of up to $1.01 billion, in addition to tiered royalties for ARV-766.

The Freshfields team is led by partner Adam Golden and includes associates Sora Park, Shannon O’Hara, Madeleine Tavcar and Tanny Kang. Partner Jan Rybnicek, special counsel Meytal McCoy and associate Emily Strickland are providing antitrust advice.