Brandl & Talos advises shareholders on the sale of Themis to Merck Sharp Dohme

• Corporate Law & Transactions from Roman Rericha, Markus Arzt, Stephan Strass

Vienna, May 27, 2020 - With this acquisition, Merck Sharp Dohme (MSD) secures, among others, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Austrian company Themis, which will be combined with an MSD vaccine platform to contribute to the global fight against coronavirus.

Austrian company Themis is a leader in the development of vaccines against immune diseases and was previously owned by several international investors. Yesterday, MSD announced the acquisition of the company. MSD is combining its vaccine platform with a new COVID-19 vaccine developed by Themis and Institut Pasteur (a European vaccine research institute), a transaction that paves the way for a global fight against coronavirus.

Brandl Talos advised the shareholders of Themis on this landmark deal for the Austrian biotech scene; these include Farallon Capital Management, Global Health Investment Fund, Adjuvent Capital, Wellington Partners Life Sciences, Ventech, Omnes-Fonds, Hadean Ventures and aws Gründerfonds. In addition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (Robert Ishii & Miranda Biven) advised the shareholders on U.S. law issues.

Themis Bioscience GmbH was represented by McDermott Will & Emery France (Emmanuelle Trombe & David Lipkin) and Herbst Kinsky (Florian Steinhart & Felix Kernbichler).

MSD was represented by Covington & Burling (Catherine J. Dargan & Michael J. Riella) and Wolf Theiss (Hartwig Kienast).

Roman Rericha led the Brandl Talos transaction team, which also included Markus Arzt, Stephan Strass and Matea Plavotic.

» This transaction is a shining example of the innovative strength of Austrian biotechnology companies. We have been supporting the scene for years and are pleased that they are also relying on our expertise in this sensational transaction. «

Roman Rericha

The team

Roman Rericha

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Partner / Gesellschaftsrecht & Transaktionen, Venture Capital & Start-ups, Fund Formation

Roman betreut komplexe, grenzüberschreitende M&A- und Private Equity-Transaktionen. Zudem unterstützt er regelmäßig ausländische und österreichische Venture Capital-Fonds iZm Investments in Österreich sowie Start-ups bei Large Scale-Finanzierungsrunden.

Universität Wien, Rechtswissenschaftliche Fakultät (Mag. iur. 2005)
Fakultät der Wirtschaftswissenschaften, (Mag. rer.soc.oec. 2007)

Markus Arzt

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Partner / Gesellschaftsrecht & Transaktionen, Venture Capital & Start-ups, Fund Formation, Kapitalmarktrecht

Markus Arzt hat in den vergangenen Jahren an großen internationalen Transaktionen federführend mitgewirkt und ist angesehener Experte für Venture Capital und Private Equity.

Universität Wien, Rechtswissenschaftliche Fakultät (Mag. iur. 2012)

Stephan Strass

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Partner / Gesellschaftsrecht & Transaktionen, Venture Capital & Start-ups, Biotech & Life Sciences

Stephan berät innovative Start-ups, institutionelle und strategische Investoren und andere Unternehmen bei Akquisitionen, Finanzierungsrunden, Joint Ventures und Exit-Transaktionen mit Fokus auf stark regulierten Branchen wie Life Sciences, Biotech und Leisure & Entertainment. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt seiner Tätigkeit liegt auf Technologie-Transaktionen im Bereich Life Sciences und Biotech und umfasst unter anderem universitäre Ausgründungen und Spin-offs, strategische Kooperationen, Patent- und Technologielizenzen und Transaktionen zum Erwerb von geistigem Eigentum.

Er ist Co-Autor von Kommentaren zum EU-Verschmelzungsgesetz und Investmentfondsgesetz sowie Autor zahlreicher wissenschaftlicher Publikationen.

Harvard Law School, Master of Laws (LL.M. 2019)
Universität Wien, Juristische Fakultät (Mag. iur. 2015)

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