BRANDL TALOS advises AC Immune on the Acquisition of Parkinson’s Disease Vaccine Candidate

• Corporate Law & Transactions from Roman Rericha, Stephan Strass, Raphael Toman, Alexander Stücklberger

Alongside Bär & Karrer, BRANDL TALOS advises AC Immune on the Strategic Acquisition of Industry-leading Parkinson's Disease Vaccine Candidate and Equity Investment

AC Immune SA (NASDAQ: ACIU), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering precision medicine for neurodegenerative diseases based in Lausanne, Switzerland, yesterday announced that it is acquiring Vienna-based Affiris AG’s portfolio of therapeutics targeting alpha-synuclein (a-syn), notably Affiris PD01, a clinically-validated active vaccine candidate for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, as well as cash. The all-stock asset acquisition is valued at USD 58.7 million.

AC Immune is acquiring all of Affiris’ assets and underlying intellectual property related to active vaccine candidates targeting a-syn and USD 5 million in cash for 7.1 million shares based on a price of USD 8.26 per common share of AC Immune. This share price represents a 10.7% premium compared to the closing price of AC Immune shares as of 23 July 2021.

» With this acquisition, AC Immune will become a leader in the development of therapeutics and diagnostics for Parkinson's disease. We are excited that we could support AC Immune alongside our friends and colleagues from Bär & Karrer on this strategic acquisition, which again shows our expertise in the biotech sector. «

Stephan Strass, attorney at BRANDL TALOS

Concurrent with the asset acquisition, AC Immune’s cash position, as well as its investor base, is also being strengthened by a total of USD 30 million in gross proceeds stemming from the asset acquisition and a parallel private placement transaction with a select group of investors that are adding Athos Service GmbH, First Capital Partner GmbH and MIG Fonds, the lead investors in Covid-19 vaccine innovator BioNTech SE, as new AC Immune shareholders.

The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approval in Austria and expected to complete at the beginning of Q4 2021.

Bär & Karrer (Rolf Watter and Vera Naegeli) has acted as lead counsel and BRANDL TALOS has acted as Austrian counsel for AC Immune. The BT deal team was led by Roman Rericha and Stephan Strass and further included Christina Bernhart and Elena Ciresa (both Corporate/M&A), Alexander Stücklberger (Employment) and Raphael Toman (Regulatory). Davis Polk Wardwell LLC, New York, acted as U.S. deal counsel for AC Immune.

The team

Roman Rericha

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Partner / Fund Formation, Venture Capital & Start Ups, Corporate Law & Transactions

Roman represents clients in complex cross-border M&A and private equity transactions. Austrian and international venture capital funds regularly turn to him for assisting with investments in Austria. His expert advice also guides start-ups through large-scale financing rounds.

University of Vienna, Faculty of Law (Mag. iur. 2005),
Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics, (Mag. rer.soc.oec. 2007)

Stephan Strass

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Partner / Venture Capital & Start Ups, Corporate Law & Transactions, BioTech & Lifescience

Stephan advises innovative start-ups, institutional and strategic investors and other companies on acquisitions, financing rounds, joint ventures and exit transactions with a focus on highly regulated industries such as life sciences, biotech and leisure & entertainment. He further specializes in commercial transactions in the life science and biotech sector, including university spin-offs, strategic collaborations, patent and technology license agreements and IP purchase transactions.

He has co-authored commentaries on the EU Merger Act and the Investment Fund Act, and is the author of many academic publications.

University of Vienna, Faculty of Law (Mag. iur. 2015)
Harvard Law School, Master of Laws (LL.M. 2019)

Raphael Toman

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Partner / Legal Tech, IP & Data Protection, Regulatory, Capital Markets, Compliance & Internal Investigations, Banking, Insurance and Securities Regulation Law

Raphael advises financial services providers in proceedings before civil and administrative courts, as well as on regulatory issues, money laundering prevention, sanctions and crypto-assets. He also represents clients from various industries in (cross-border) litigation. Furthermore, he supports companies on data protection and is the data protection officer of a biotech company and an international sports association.

University of Vienna, Faculty of Law (Mag. iur. 2011, Dr. iur. 2019)
New York University, University of Vienna academic excellence scholarship (LL.M. 2017)
admitted to the New York bar (2017)
Stagiaire at the International Chamber of Commerce (2018)

Alexander Stücklberger

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Partner / Legal Tech, Labour Law, Compliance & Internal Investigations, White-Collar Crime

Alex specializes in representing companies, as well as their managers, in complex criminal matters and related corporate and employment disputes. He leads internal investigations and advises companies on employment law matters. The prestigious Legal 500 lawyer ranking lists Alex as a "Rising Star" in white collar crime law.

University of Vienna, Faculty of Law (Magister iuris 2016)

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