Polsinelli: Supporting Life Sciences from Formation to Exit

The Spotlight

Q1. What does Polsinelli do, and who does the firm serve?

Polsinelli is an Am Law 100 law firm serving clients across the life sciences ecosystem — including biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, digital health, and investment firms — with strategic legal counsel throughout the full innovation life cycle. The firm partners with companies, investors, research institutions, and other industry stakeholders as they navigate growth, commercialization, intellectual property, regulatory matters, and disputes, including product liability. Its multidisciplinary approach delivers practical, business-focused solutions tailored to the life sciences industry, spanning formation and financing through commercialization, strategic transactions such as licensing and acquisitions, and exit via M&A or IPO.

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Q2. What makes Polsinelli's approach different from others in the space?

Polsinelli's strength lies in bringing together attorneys across disciplines and offices to support clients at every stage of growth. Because life sciences challenges rarely fit neatly into a single practice area, its teams collaborate to provide advice that reflects both the legal and commercial realities of the industry. Representing innovative companies, investors, and strategic partners across the life sciences ecosystem gives the firm a clear view of the interconnected issues shaping transactions, product development, commercialization, and long-term growth — a strength reflected in its Chambers and Partners’ USA Life Sciences ranking.

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Q3. What's a recent engagement Polsinelli is particularly proud of?

Polsinelli's recent work reflects the breadth of support it provides as life sciences companies innovate, grow, and bring new technologies to market. In one instance, the firm represented Alloy Therapeutics in negotiating and structuring a multi-target collaboration and license agreement with Biogen involving Alloy's proprietary AntiClastic™ ASO platform, advising on intellectual property licensing, platform access, development and commercialization terms, and overall transaction structure. Polsinelli also served as intellectual property counsel to SpyGlass Pharma on its Nasdaq IPO, building on several years of prior IP counsel as the company advanced its sustained-release ophthalmology platform. Together, these engagements highlight the firm's ability to provide integrated counsel at pivotal moments in a company's growth — from strategic collaborations that accelerate innovation to capital markets transactions that support long-term success.

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Q4. Which Big4Bio regions does Polsinelli serve?

Polsinelli serves clients nationwide, including across all of Big4Bio's core markets. Its Life Sciences practice is built to support clients wherever they operate, and the firm regularly advises companies, investors, and institutions across the country's leading and emerging innovation hubs.

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Q5. What trend or challenge are Polsinelli's clients asking about most right now?

Uncertainty in dealmaking — both financing and M&A transactions — remains a significant challenge across the industry. M&A activity has been choppy over the past four to five years, with deal volume and value rising and falling in turn. Each January, following the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference, optimists predict an upswing in deal count and size; in 2025 they were wrong, as a sluggish year extended the lethargy of prior years. Hopes for 2026 — improving inflation, lower interest rates, significant deployable capital within Big Pharma, upcoming patent expirations, and growing private equity interest — have not materialized as economic and regulatory headwinds, including a slower economy, higher interest rates, and FDA resistance on vaccines and CAR-T therapies, have persisted into the second half of the year.

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In seed and VC financing, investors across biotech, pharma, medical device, digital health, and healthcare services continue to de-risk, favoring larger, later-stage deals over early-stage, pre-clinical companies — particularly in vaccines and CAR-T therapies, given FDA pushback. For most early-stage companies without a clear, lower-risk pathway, raising the capital needed to reach Phase I remains difficult.

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Overall, clients continue to operate in an uncertain growth environment, requiring them to pivot often to make the most of their cash, navigate regulatory ambiguity, adapt to changing technologies, and manage longer, less predictable timelines.

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As clients navigate this uncertainty, Polsinelli helps them evaluate practical paths forward while balancing business, legal and regulatory considerations. Our multidisciplinary team works alongside clients to adapt to changing market conditions, preserve flexibility and position their businesses to capitalize on opportunities as the market evolves.

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About The Organization

Polsinelli

Polsinelli is an Am Law 100 firm that serves life sciences companies across the full innovation life cycle — from formation and financing through commercialization, strategic transactions (licensing and acquisitions), and exit via M&A or IPO. Its multidisciplinary team advises biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, digital health, and investor clients on corporate, intellectual property, regulatory, FDA, licensing, and litigation matters. By combining deep industry knowledge with a practical, business-focused approach, Polsinelli has become a trusted partner for  life sciences industry stakeholders navigating complex legal and commercial challenges.