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Morgan Lewis

Esther H. Phu

Associate

Esther H. Phu works closely with life sciences and technology companies to structure and negotiate technology transactions, including in-licensing and out-licensing of patents and products, strategic partnerships, and other complex collaborations. She advises clients on private financing and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions where technology is a critical component. Esther also drafts and negotiates day-to-day contractual arrangements such as master service agreements, clinical trial agreements, and supply and distribution agreements.

Extended Profile

Prior to law school, Esther worked closely with attorneys and clients as a legal secretary at an intellectual property law firm.

Selected Representations

  • Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) in the sale of its spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor portfolio to Kronos Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: KRON), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on cancer therapeutics
  • Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group (HKG: 3692) in a strategic collaboration, exclusive license, and supply agreement with EQRx for the development and commercialization by EQRx of Hansoh’s almonertinib in the United States, Europe, and Japan
  • International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) in collaboration with Merck KGaA and Serum Institute of India to develop SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (developed by IAVI and Scripps Research)
  • Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) in its investments in Sierra Private Investments L.P., the controlling shareholder of Mavenir plc and Ozon Holdings plc (MCX: OZON)
  • OliX Pharmaceuticals (KOSDAQ: 226950) in an exclusive license and supply agreement with AM Chemicals, LLC for GalNAc conjugate technology and materials for OliX’s asymmetric small interfering RNA (asiRNA) for liver targeting
  • Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) in the following acquisitions:
    • Iridize, an enterprise platform for personalized and contextual user onboarding and training for cloud applications
    • Talari Networks, a leading provider of Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) technology offering centralized control and improved application performance 
    • Vocado, a company that provides a leading student-centric, cloud-based financial aid solution for higher education institutions
    • Zenedge, a company that helps secure critical IT systems deployed via cloud, on-premise, or hybrid hosting environments 
  • Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE: TAK) in its license and collaboration arrangement with Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVAX) for production and commercialization of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Japan

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, 2017, J.D., Business Law Specialization
  • University of California, Irvine, 2013, B.A.

Admissions

  • California

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