Emelia Morris advises on commercial transactions in the development, exploitation and commercialization of medicinal products. Emelia has experience structuring and negotiating transactions for both branded and generic products, including research collaborations and license agreements, university licenses and sponsored research agreements, option agreements, pre-clinical research agreements, material transfer agreements, licenses and co-development collaborations, clinical research agreements, contract research organization (CRO) agreements, co-promotion/co-development alliances, marketing and distribution agreements, product acquisitions and divestitures, manufacturing and supply agreements, transition service agreements, co-promotion agreements, and various other corporate partnering structures.
Emelia also has experience working on corporate transactions, including private mergers and acquisitions, fundraisings, joint ventures, restructurings, and corporate advisory work.
Emelia is also active in pro bono work at the firm. In 2021 she successfully represented a pro bono client in a building dispute in court and is currently assisting a family with their immigration applications.
Emelia is qualified in England and Wales and in New York. She worked in the London office of Arnold and Porter for over four years before transferring to the New York office in September 2024.
Experience
- Novartis Pharma AG, on a multi-target collaboration, option and license agreement with Antares Therapeutics, Inc. for the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class small molecule therapies against historically undruggable oncology targets.
- Alcon Pharmaceuticals, Ltd, on a non-exclusive collaboration with RxSight, Inc. to develop adjustable presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses by combining Alcon's IOL optical designs with RxSight's light-adjustable lens technology, together with a related manufacturing and supply agreement under which RxSight will manufacture and supply the resulting products to Alcon for U.S. commercialization.
- Incyte Corporation, on a global license agreement with Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for zilurgisertib, an ALK2 inhibitor in development for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP).
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, on the sale of its Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher, awarded following FDA approval of Modeyso (dordaviprone) for an aggressive brain tumor indication.
- Sandoz AG, on a global license, development and commercialization agreement with Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd for up to five biosimilar candidates, the first being a vedolizumab biosimilar referencing Entyvio®.
- Novartis Pharma AG, on a collaboration and license agreement with ProFound Therapeutics, Inc. to identify proteins from the expanded human proteome as novel drug targets for cardiovascular disease.
- Novartis, in the negotiation of a global license and collaboration agreement with PTC Therapeutics for PTC518, an HTT mRNA splice modulator with the potential to become the first oral disease-modifying therapy for Huntington's disease.
- 111Skin Ltd, a London-based brand that bridges the gap between plastic surgery and skincare, on securing a significant minority investment from SKKY Partners, a consumer-focused private equity firm founded by Jay Sammons and Kim Kardashian.
- Touchlight, on an agreement with Ceva Animal Health Limited to use Touchlight’s dbDNA technology in animal health.
- Avantor, Inc., a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technology industries on an agreement to divest its clinical services business to Audax Private Equity.
- Cognizant, on its acquisition of Belcan, LLC, for consideration totaling approximately $1.3 billion.
- Essential Pharma on the acquisition of Renaissance Pharma.
- Novartis, on a collaboration and license agreement with BicycleTx Limited to develop, manufacture, and commercialize BicycleTx’s radio-conjugates for two of Novartis’ oncology targets.
- Bristol Myers Squibb, on a strategic license and collaboration agreement with Zenas to develop and commercialize novel bi-functional antibody Obexelimab in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.
- Pfizer on a renegotiation and expansion of a collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to deliver more than 320 million doses of Pfizer’s injectable contraceptive, Sayana® Press, to enable greater access to injectable contraceptives for millions of women in low- and lower-middle income countries.
- Novartis, on an exclusive license agreement in relation to its naporafenib asset, a Phase 2 pivotal-ready pan-RAF inhibitor for treating pathway-driven tumours, to Erasca Inc.
- Polyloop, on its pre-seed investment round with private investors and corporate advisory work.
- Steering committee of term loan lenders, in relation to the restructuring of over $2 billion of debt owed by to Cineworld Group Plc, a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange and the world's second-largest cinema chain, through Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
- AstraZeneca, in agreements with governmental authorities for the distribution of the University of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine.
- Touchlight Genetics on renegotiated license with AskBio and joint venture exit.
- Touchlight, on various corporate matters, including fundraising from private equity.
- Pfizer, in agreements for the supply to various governmental authorities of Pfizer and BioNTech’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, against SARS-CoV-2.
- Steering committee of term loan lenders owed in excess of $2 billion with respect to the issuance of a new $450 million term loan facility to Cineworld Group Plc (Cineworld), a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange and the world's second-largest cinema chain.
Perspectives
Recognition
Credentials
Education
- American Law and Politics, University of Southern California, 2016
- M.A., Law, Queens' College, Cambridge, 2015
Admissions
- New York
- England and Wales