Latham & Watkins LLP

Dr. Christopher (Chris) Hazuka advises life sciences companies on the agreements and transactions that are essential to their success at all stages of their life cycle, drawing on his experience as a scientist and former in-house counsel.

Chris, based in both San Diego and the Bay Area, brings clients a scientist’s sensibility, a passion for creating synergies to bring innovation to market, and a pragmatic understanding of the full complement of business and legal issues clients face. In particular, he helps established and emerging life sciences companies by providing problem-solving advice to structure, negotiate, and execute a myriad of transactions, such as:

• • Complex collaborations
  • Intellectual property and technology licenses
  • Relationships to assist in developing drug candidates and innovative technologies
  • Manufacturing and quality agreements
  • Commercial agreements, including profit sharing and co-promotion agreements
  • University licenses
  • Clinical trial agreements

In the context of strategic transactions, he advises on:

• • Due diligence and disclosure matters
  • Venture financings, public offerings, and M&A transactions

Chris earned a PhD at Stanford University in the Neurosciences Program for his work in Dr. Richard Scheller’s laboratory on the molecular mechanisms of neurotransmission. He later served as in-house counsel for Orexigen Therapeutics, an emerging company that successfully developed and commercialized a drug to treat obesity. At the La Jolla, California-based company, Chris assisted with challenging issues across the company’s full range of legal matters.

He also clerked for Judge Jeremy Fogel of the United States District Court of Northern California, assisting on several high-stakes technology patent litigation matters.