Mark J. Cooper
Partner
Overview
Mark Cooper is an accomplished and versatile corporate and transactional lawyer who has advised clients in the life sciences industry for 30 years.
Mark represents companies in structuring, drafting, and negotiating strategic transactions at all stages of the product lifecycle, from research and development through commercialization, frequently involving cutting-edge technologies, including RNAi, cell therapy, gene therapy, multi-specifics antibodies, and CRISPR, as well as devices, device-drug combinations, and diagnostics.
Career & Education
- Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Pfizer
- Spin-out from Pfizer of SpringWorks LLC.
- Exclusive license of worldwide rights to PF-00547659, a Phase II antibody to MadCAM from Pfizer to Shire Pharmaceutical.
- Research, Option and License Agreement between Pfizer and WaVe Therapeutics to develop and commercialize oligonucleotide therapeutics.
- Exclusive license agreement with Spark Therapeutics for worldwide rights to gene therapy candidate SPK-9001 for hemophilia B.
- Worldwide co-promotion agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim for Spiriva® (tiotropium).
- Worldwide collaboration and license with Heptares Therapeutics to develop GPCR compounds, together with a $30 million investment in Sosei, Heptares’ parent company.
- Pfizer Venture Investments Series B venture capital investment in Ixchelsis as a follow-on investment to an entity Pfizer had spun out in 2013.
- Exclusive license and option agreement with MedGenesis Therapeutix for worldwide rights to a targeted GDNF therapy using a convection enhanced delivery system for treatment of Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases.
- Development funding collaborations with SFJ for several Pfizer Oncology assets.
- Exclusive license agreement with Gliknik Inc. to develop and commercialize recombinant IVIG therapies to treat auto-immune diseases.
- Zoetis Inc. spin-out from Pfizer – Research Agreement for Zoetis discovery, and mutual Exclusive License Agreements to IP.
- Non-exclusive license with Harbor Antibodies for Pfizer to use Harbour’s transgenic mouse technology.
- Exclusive license agreement with Repligen Inc for RG-3039, a pre-clinical candidate for the treatment of SMA.
- Exclusive license from Pfizer to Sequella of worldwide rights to sutezolid, a Phase II compound in clinical development for the treatment of tuberculosis.
- Exclusive license with KU Leuven (Belgium) for worldwide rights to Leuven’s LEDGF-integrase inhibitors in development for treatment of HIV.
- Acquisition by Pfizer of Wyeth, led integration project for existing business development transactions.
- Termination Agreement, together with a royalty-bearing reversion license with Nicox SA for latanoprostene bunod (now marketed by Bausch & Lomb as VYZULTA™).
- License, collaboration and royalty agreement with pSivida Limited (and its US subsidiary, pSivida, Inc.) to provide Pfizer with exclusive access to an intravitreal drug delivery device, together with an equity investment and security agreement.
- Collaborative Research and License Agreement with PTC to generate compounds for frailty and to screen compounds against other targets using PTC’s GEMS assay.
- Installment purchase of a Swedish company to acquire rights to a second-generation device for a marketed Pfizer product.
- Collaboration with Monogram Biosciences to supply a CLIA certified companion diagnostic assay to determine HIV phenotypes for maraviroc (now marketed by ViiV as Selzentry®).
- Exclusive license agreement with Schering AG for ADP Receptor Antagonist Program.
- Expansion of worldwide collaboration agreement with Altana AG for Daxas® (roflumolast).
- Acquisition by Pfizer of Esperion Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $1.3 billion.
- Distribution agreement with Andrx Corporation for Cardura XL.
- Loan of $250 million from Pfizer Treasury Division to an Irish subsidiary of a major insurance company.
- License agreement with Daiichi Pharmaceuticals for exclusive worldwide rights to DK-507, a pre-clinical anti-infective.
- License and collaboration agreement with Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. for indiplon, a Phase III candidate for insomnia.
- Acquisition of Warner-Lambert Company (drafting input on acquisition agreements, due diligence, integration, tax restructuring and FTC-mandated divestitures of products).
- Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Pfizer
- New York University School of Law, J.D.
- Cornell University, B.S.
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- New York
Representative Matters
Before joining Crowell Life Sciences in 2025, Mark was Principal at Faber Daeufer & Itrato. He worked on the following matters:
- EvolveImmune Therapeutics in a collaboration and option-to-license agreement with AbbVie to develop multispecific biologics for multiple targets in oncology leveraging EvolveImmune’s T-cell engager platform, with an upfront payment of $65 million, up to $1.4 billion in option fees and milestones, as well as tiered royalty payments on net sales.
- A publicly listed biotechnology company in a strategic collaboration agreement with a pharmaceutical company involving multiple assignments of rights (worldwide and Japan) and a private equity investment.
- A therapeutics company’s license and collaboration agreement for worldwide rights to LNP technology for use in their Epigenomic Controller programs.
- A biotech venture capital firm’s antibody discovery and collaboration with another party.
- A therapeutic company’s license and collaboration with to advance allogeneic CRISPR-Edited NK cell therapies, with milestones up to $920 million plus royalties.
- A biotechnology company’s collaboration to develop gamma delta (γδ) TCR-based immunotherapies for solid tumors, with an option for the company to exclusively license candidates resulting from the collaboration.
- Ipsen’s collaboration with Exicure for discovery of spherical nucleic acids in two rare diseases, with a $20 million upfront payment and up to $1 billion in option exercise fees and milestones, plus royalty payments.
- An immunology company’s collaboration with a cardiovascular biotech company to identify novel drug targets, with an exclusive option for the biotech company to progress identified targets into drug discovery, clinical development, and commercialization in exchange for milestone and royalty payments.
- A therapeutics company’s exclusive license for world-wide rights to an IND-ready treatment for Tourette’s syndrome from a pharmaceutical company.
- Ipsen Biosciences in
- Partnership with a UK-based university to secure rights to a preclinical stage first-in-class FLIP inhibitor program.
- Research and option agreement under which a Canadian university would conduct lead optimization activities on a high-value oncology program, with rights for the company to enter into an exclusive license.
- Exclusive license agreement with a global biopharmaceutical company for worldwide rights to BLU-782, in exchange for up to $535 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties.
- Frequent representation of drug development companies with platform technology companies to discover and/or create multispecific or conjugated antibodies against designated drug targets.
- A biopharmaceutical company in restructuring its agreements with two pharma companies related to an option to license the company’s treatment for DMD in Phase III.
- Investor syndicate in a negotiation with a UK-based pharmaceuticals company of an Exclusive License Agreement for a respiratory drug candidate and a Development and Manufacturing Services Agreement for clinical supply of drug product.
- SonALAsense on
- Collaboration and license agreement a medical device company to develop and commercialize aminolevulinic acid/sonodynamic therapy for GBM patients using their proprietary ultrasound device.
- Strategic clinical collaboration with a globally leading neurological disease treatment and research institution to develop and test a new, non-invasive drug-device combination, sonodynamic therapy (SDT), for recurrent glioblastoma through a Phase 0/2 clinical trial, using a third-party device.
- Mid-sized pharmaceutical company on an option agreement for a European biotech to conduct lead identification and optimization activities on a high-value oncology program under a separate research agreement. Upon exercise of the option at the end of the research term, the client would acquire an exclusive license for worldwide rights to the program.
- Start-up drug discovery company for an exclusive license to CAR-T intellectual property from a U.S. institution.
- An early-stage drug development company on a license agreement to obtain exclusive worldwide rights to use a proprietary AAV vector with a specific gene target for treatment in pain-related disorders.
- Two separate drug development companies on funded discovery collaborations to use a proprietary platform to discover antibodies against designated drug targets.
- A drug development company on an option agreement and license agreement, together with a sponsored research agreement, to discover and develop small molecules against a rare bone disease target.
- A therapeutics company following its spin-out from Pfizer on academic, foundation, and NGO collaborations, master services agreements with CROs and CMOs, and company standard forms and templates.
- Alnylam on an industry consortium to perform genetic sequencing of 500,000 biological samples from the UK BioBank and related research projects.
- Served as a neutral arbitrator in a JAMS arbitration in a dispute between two biopharmaceutical companies over non-payment of royalties under an exclusive license agreement.
