Representing Synlogic, Inc. from Inception to IPO

The Situation

Back in 2014, when Atlas Ventures was looking to organize and launch Synlogic, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of a novel class of living medicines, they turned to Lewis Geffen, Co-chair of the firm’s Life Science practice, to assist with the company’s organization, financing, securing of intellectual property and collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In just under three-and-a-half years after its organization, Mintz helped Synlogic raise over $100 million in venture capital and another $40 million as Synlogic become a public company through a reverse merger with Mirna Therapeutics.

The Approach

"We were there with them from the beginning," is a statement often heard from Lewis and other life science attorneys at Mintz, when describing the deep biotech industry expertise, soup-to-nuts business-minded approach that has led to many long-term relationships with leading life science companies. By combining the firm’s ability to effectively and efficiently deliver corporate, financing, partnering, and IP services to biotech startups with its deeply experienced Capital Markets and M&A practices, Mintz has been able to successfully help dozens of life science companies succeed and grow to the point of a successful exit, whether through an IPO or sale to a larger company.

One such example is Synlogic, Inc., which today is a publicly traded company developing its proprietary novel class of living medicines or Synthetic Biotic^TM medicines. After incorporating the company in 2014, the firm helped Synlogic successfully raise over $100 million in three rounds of venture capital financing from such investors as Atlas Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Orbimed, Deerfield Management, Perceptive Advisors, and others. The firm also assisted Synlogic in obtaining rights to intellectual property from two academic institutions and entered into a collaboration agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2015, Mintz also assisted Synlogic with its multiyear global R&D collaboration with AbbVie.

As Synlogic geared up for additional capital in 2017, the firm helped Synlogic explore multiple strategic alternatives — which eventually led to the May 16, 2017 announcement of the closing of Synlogic’s $42 million Series C Preferred Stock Financing by leading biotechnology investors and its execution of a definitive merger agreement with Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., under which Synlogic and Mirna would combine in an all-stock transaction with the merged company continuing under the Synlogic name. When the merger closed in August 2017, Synlogic commenced trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Ticker Symbol “SYBX” with approximately $100 million in cash and cash equivalents available to focus on further developing Synlogic’s clinical candidates and advancing its platform for the development of additional Synthetic Biotic™ medicines. In January and April of 2018, the firm assisted Synlogic with raising another $50 million through an underwritten confidentially marketed public offering and $30 million through a registered direct offering of shares of its common stock, respectively.

The Outcome

Mintz is deeply experienced in all phases and aspects life science industry.  By combining the firm’s ability to effectively and efficiently deliver highly skilled corporate, financing, partnering, and IP services to privately held biotech startups throughout the United States with its deeply experienced life science capital markets and M&A, the firm has been able to successfully help dozens of life science companies, such as Synlogic, succeed and grow to the point of a successful exit, whether through an IPO or sale to a larger company.