LONDON, Oct. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AstraZeneca announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, has acquired Spirogen, a privately-held biotech company focused on antibody-drug conjugate technology for use in oncology.  Covington & Burling advised AstraZeneca on the transaction working alongside AstraZeneca's in-house legal team.

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MedImmune has also entered into a collaboration agreement with ADC Therapeutics to jointly develop two of ADC Therapeutics' antibody-drug conjugate programmes in preclinical development. In addition, MedImmune will make an equity investment in ADC Therapeutics, which has an existing licensing agreement with Spirogen.

MedImmune will acquire 100 per cent of Spirogen's shares for an initial consideration of $200 million and deferred consideration of up to $240 million based on reaching predetermined development milestones.

The Covington team was led by partner Paul Claydon and included partners James Halstead (M&A), Lucinda Osborne (licensing and collaboration) and Gregor Frizzell (investment in ADC Therapeutics), as well as of counsel Morag Peberdy (IP).

Covington & Burling LLP, an international law firm, provides corporate, litigation, and regulatory expertise to enable clients to achieve their goals.  Founded in 1919, the firm has more than 800 lawyers and offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC.

Contact: Rebecca Carr, 202-662-5110, rcarr@cov.com

SOURCE Covington & Burling LLP

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