Johnson & Johnson’s Acquisition of Novira Therapeutics, Inc.

On November 4, 2015, Johnson & Johnson announced a definitive agreement to acquire Novira Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, clinical‑stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for curative treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Cravath represented Johnson & Johnson in connection with this transaction. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Cravath team was led by partner Robert I. Townsend III and included associates Matthew M. Kelly and Adam J. Gross on M&A matters; partner J. Leonard Teti II on tax matters; partner Eric W. Hilfers and associates Jonathan J. Katz and Matthew J. Bobby on executive compensation and benefits matters; partner David J. Kappos and practice area attorney Anthony N. Magistrale on intellectual property matters; and partner Matthew Morreale on environmental matters. Lingfeng Li also worked on tax matters.