Brian D. Doerner is a Practice Co-Leader of the Mergers and Acquisitions Group. Brian also is the former Chair of the Business and Transactions Department, former Co-Leader of the Life Sciences Industry Group, and he served for six months as the interim general counsel for a NYSE-listed multinational company.
Brian has over 30 years of experience representing both public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, cross-border transactions, and corporate governance matters. He has negotiated numerous strategic alliances and licensing agreements for life sciences, technology, manufacturing, and other companies. In the area of securities law, Brian has handled numerous private placements, private equity transactions, tender offers, initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, and 144A transactions.
After receiving his M.B.A. and before attending law school, Brian worked at IBM.
Experience
Representative Matters
- Advised DuPont in the sale of DuPont’s Nutrition & Biosciences Business in a reverse Morris Trust transaction, leading a team which negotiated numerous supply agreements and service agreements and handled diligence and certain other aspects of the merger.
- Advised Spark Therapeutics in the company’s exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement with CombiGene AB, a Swedish gene therapy development company, for CombiGene’s CG01 project, an investigational gene therapy that aims to treat drug-resistant focal epilepsy.
- Represented CSL Behring in the acquisition (from MedImmune) and subsequent sale (to Saol US Inc.) of CytoGam, an intravenous immune globulin indicated for cytomegalovirus. Both transactions included CytoGam and related assets, including patents and trademarks, manufacturing contracts, and government authorizations with the product.
Professional Highlights
Judicial Clerkships
Hon. James L. Latchum, Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the State of Delaware
Recognition & Accomplishments
Chambers USA, corporate/M&A and private equity law, (Pennsylvania), 2010-2022
The Best Lawyers in America, securities/capital markets law, 2013-2023; "Lawyer of the Year," Securities/Capital Markets Law (Philadelphia), 2014
The Legal 500 US, mergers, acquisitions and buyouts - M&A: middle-market, 2016, 2018-2021
LMG Life Sciences Awards, Licensing & Collaboration, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2022
Named "Highly Regarded—Pennsylvania" by IFLR 1000 for M&A, 2019-2021
Speaking Engagements
Brian has lectured extensively on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and other legal issues.
Board Memberships & Community Service
Life Sciences PA, Board Advocacy Committee
Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Philadelphia, Past Board Member
People's Light & Theatre Company, Former President, Honorary Board of Trustees
Entrepreneurs' Forum, past President and Board Member
Related Insights
Credentials
Education
University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., cum laude)
Senior Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review; Member, Order of the Coif
University of Michigan (M.B.A., with honors)
Member, Beta Gamma Sigma
University of Delaware (B.A., magna cum laude)
Admissions
Pennsylvania