Healthcare and Life Sciences

On October 8, 2026, Viatris Inc. (“Viatris”), a global healthcare company, and Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (“Pacira”), a leader in innovative non‑opioid pain therapies, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Viatris has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Pacira for $36.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate equity value of $1.65 billion. Cravath is representing Viatris in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented the agent and lenders in connection with Apax Partners’ €1.5 billion acquisition of Centor Holding US, Inc. and certain entities and assets representing the primary packaging plastics business of the Gerresheimer Group, a leading global partner for pharmaceutical primary packaging, drug delivery systems and solutions. On October 2, 2026, Gerresheimer Group announced the acquisition of Centor Holding was successfully completed.

On September 21, 2026, DRI Healthcare Trust (“DRI Healthcare”), a pioneer in global pharmaceutical royalty monetization, announced that it has entered into purchase agreements to acquire certain royalty participation rights in U.S. net sales of tavapadon, an investigational Parkinson’s disease drug candidate, from funds managed by Bain Capital and NovaQuest Capital Management. Under the terms of the purchase agreements, DRI Healthcare will pay an aggregate purchase price of $316 million at closing. Following closing, DRI Healthcare will be entitled to receive tiered royalty payments on annual U.S. net sales of tavapadon, at combined tiered, mid‑single digit to low‑double digit royalty rates. DRI Healthcare will also be entitled to receive certain sales milestone payments upon first reaching certain cumulative U.S. net sales thresholds and four annual fixed payments of $23.4 million on the first four anniversaries of FDA approval of tavapadon. Aggregate receipts are subject to a contractual hard cap of $437.5 million. Cravath is representing DRI Healthcare in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented Illumina, Inc. in connection with its $1 billion revolving credit facility. Illumina, Inc. is a global leader in sequencing- and array‑based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis. The transaction closed on August 13, 2026.

On August 6, 2026, Harrow, a leading provider of ophthalmic disease management solutions in North America, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TYRVAYA® (varenicline solution) nasal spray 0.03 mg from Viatris Inc. (“Viatris”), a global healthcare company. TYRVAYA is a cholinergic agonist indicated for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) and is currently approved in the U.S., China, and Taiwan, with marketing authorization applications pending in other countries. Under the terms of the agreement, Harrow will pay $30 million in cash at closing and up to $70 million in contingent milestone payments tied to TYRVAYA's net sales, for a potential total consideration of up to $100 million. Cravath is representing Viatris in connection with the transaction.

On September 29, 2026, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance published Cravath’s latest quarterly newsletter on M&A, activism and corporate governance. The newsletter provides insight into practical points, key takeaways and relevant developments across the M&A, activism, tax, regulatory and corporate governance landscape during the second quarter of 2026. Contributors to this edition include partners Margaret T. Segall, Evan A. Hill, Matthew L. Ploszek, Kimberley S. Drexler and Adam M. Sanchez.

On September 24, 2026, the Financial Times recognized Cravath for the second year in a row at the publication’s Innovative Lawyer Europe Awards 2026, which recognize the most innovative work and legal service lawyers have developed for their clients in Europe. Cravath was chosen as the winner in the “Private Capital” category in recognition of the Firm’s representation of the mandated lead arrangers and lenders in connection with the financing that supported the acquisition of Karo Healthcare by KKR. 

On September 9, 2026, Cravath published the latest edition of its Quarterly Review, which provides insight into practical points, key takeaways and relevant developments across the M&A, activism, tax, regulatory and corporate governance landscape. This edition covers:

On July 2, 2026, Cravath published the latest edition of its Artificial Intelligence Developments Newsletter, which includes a high-level review of activity across technical, regulatory, legal, and market areas of AI over the last month, highlighting selected new trends.  

On May 28, 2026, Cravath published the latest edition of its Artificial Intelligence Developments Newsletter, which includes a high‑level review of activity across technical, regulatory, legal, and market areas of AI over the last month.