.jpg?n=5702 "ByrneWallace Logo")
Colin Sainsbury - Partner
Colin, who joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate Department in January 2004, has extensive international transactional and other experience particularly in the life sciences and technology sectors.
Colin advises a broad range of companies operating in the life sciences and related sectors including biotechnology, pharmaceutical and med tech companies, research institutions and government institutions such as Alimentary Health, Azur Pharma, Elan Corporation, Merrion Pharmaceuticals, NUI Galway and Ovagen Limited. Colin also acts for a number of companies in the Food and Beverage Sectors who are increasingly becoming involved in intellectual property based transactions and related financings.
Colin is an active member of the Licensing Executives Society Laws Committee (Britain and Ireland) and the Irish American Chamber of Commerce Research & Development Committee (which has engaged with a number of state agencies). For four years Colin was a member of the Business Law Committee of the Law Society of Ireland.
Colin worked as a solicitor with another Dublin law firm before joining Elan Corporation, plc in 1994.
From 1996 to 2002 Colin was vice president and general counsel of Elan Pharmaceutical Technologies (Elan’s drug delivery division). In 2002 Colin was promoted to senior vice president and played a leading role in the restructuring of Elan that involved the sale of assets worth in excess of $1.8 billion. Colin was also centrally involved in managing the legal aspects of the SEC investigation into Elan’s accounting policies and the related litigation involving class action suits by some Elan shareholders.
Key transaction experience
The following are some examples of clients and/or transactions in which Colin has acted:
- Azur Pharma in a broad range of transactions including:
- its acquisition of the US rights to Gastrocrom from UCB Pharma
- the acquisition of Pharmelle
- the acquisition of FazaClo
- an agreement with Elan to develop and commercialise once daily formulations of Clozapine (FazaClo)
- the acquisition of Elestrin from BioSante Pharmaceuticals
- the licensing of Niravam, Parcopa, Kemstro and Fluxid from UCB.
- Alimentary Health Limited (a Cork-based biotech company with probiotic technology) in relation to a number of transactions, including:
- a research development and cross-licensing agreement with Mead Johnson (which was then part of the BMS Group)
- a research and development agreement with ConvaTec
- a number of agreements with Procter & Gamble, including a gastrointestinal licensing agreement, a clinical studies evaluation agreement and a licensing agreement with P&G Pet Care.
- Advised Elan Corporation plc on a broad range of matters, including a strategic alliance with Lilly, licensing transactions with Abbott Laboratories (single dose Tricor®/Crestor® combination) and Entremed (2ME2), and on the sub-license to AstraZeneca to develop and commercialise Unit Dose Budesonide, a fast-acting, reduced dose asthma treatment for children.
- Acted for Forfas in relation to the review of the ICSTI National Code of Practice for Managing and Commercialising Intellectual Property from Public-Private Collaborative Research.
- Fusion Nutraceuticals in relation to a license agreement with Alkem (India) for sucralose.
- Merrion Pharmaceuticals on its US$58m license agreement with Novo Nordisk to develop and commercialise oral formulations on Novo Nordisk’s proprietary insulin analogues, using Merrion’s proprietary GIPET® technology.
- Merrion Pharmaceuticals on its second US$58m license agreement with Novo Nordisk to develop and commercialise oral formulations of a Novo Nordisk proprietary GLP-1 Receptor Agonist, using Merrion’s proprietary technology and also an equity investment by Novo Nordisk in Merrion Pharmaceuticals.
- National University of Ireland Galway in relation to a number of joint venture and licensing transactions including the licensing and joint venture with Eirzyme and the transaction between the Regenerative Medicine Institute at NUI Galway (Remedi) and Smith & Nephew.
- Ovagen in relation to its corporate and life science legal requirements.
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in relation to a number of research collaborations, joint venture and licensing transactions.
- Shupon International in relation to the in-licensing of its proprietary technology with broad application for the beverage sector.
- A number of medical device companies in relation to distribution and licensing agreements with a number of US partners.
- A number of spin-out companies in relation to strategic licensing transactions with US biotech companies, including a worldwide licensing agreement between Diabetica Limited and Amylin Pharmaceuticals in relation to Diabetica’s Intellectual Property for the development of GIP Agonists.
- A number of Irish food companies in relation to joint venture and licensing arrangements, including agreements with US not for profit organisations.
Recommendations
Recommended by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500
Colin is also recommended as a leading individual within the Intellectual Property section, described as "superb – his commercial acumen is unique among the lawyers we have dealt with.
[the firm] has a sterling record for corporate work within the life sciences sector due to the respect afforded to Colin Sainsbury, a former pharmaceutical in-house counsel, who is ‘sought after for his in-depth industry knowledge and experience’.