Ballard Spahr IP Attorneys Advise DRI Healthcare on $179M Pharmaceutical Royalty Acquisition

Ballard Spahr Intellectual Property attorneys advised DRI Healthcare Trust on patent and regulatory matters in acquiring a synthetic royalty interest in the worldwide net sales of all formulations of sebetralstat from KalVista Pharmaceuticals for an aggregate purchase price of up to $179 million. The transaction closed November 4.

The purchase price for the synthetic royalty interest includes a $100 million upfront payment, up to $57 million in a sales-based milestone payment, and a one-time $22 million optional payment. Additionally, DRI Healthcare Trust—a global leader in providing financing to advance innovation in the life sciences industry—is making a $5 million investment in KalVista’s common stock in a private placement transaction.

Sebetralstat, developed by KalVista, would be the first and only oral on-demand therapy for treating attacks associated with hereditary angioedema, known as HAE, a rare genetic disorder characterized by severe and recurrent swelling.

The Ballard Spahr team that represented DRI Healthcare Trust on intellectual property aspects of the transaction comprises attorneys Margaret Bolce Brivanlou, Ph.D.; Kenneth H. Sonnenfeld, Ph.D.; and Sommer S. Zimmerman, Ph.D.; as well as patent agent Alexander M. Porte, Ph.D. For more information about the transaction, see the DRI Healthcare Trust press release.

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