Santo J. Costa Joins Smith Anderson's Life Sciences Practice
Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, LLP announced today that Santo J. Costa has joined the firm, as Of Counsel, in its life sciences practice.
Mr. Costa has over 35 years experience in executive level legal and management positions with international pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical services companies, including President and member of the Board of Directors of Quintiles Transnational Corp. and Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and member of the Board of Directors of Glaxo, Inc., now GlaxoSmithKline. Since leaving Quintiles, Mr. Costa has been in private practice working with companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare and related areas. Mr. Costa sits on the Boards of Directors of OSI Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OSIP), CV Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CVTX) and is chairman of Labopharm Inc, (Nasdaq: DDSS; TSX: DDS ) as well as other privately-held companies, and civic and charitable organizations.
Mr. Costa joins Smith Anderson's leading life sciences team which brings to bear deep industry and transactional expertise for life sciences companies, as well as investors in those companies. In 2006, the firm handled over 50 life sciences and healthcare-related transactions representing over $4 billion in value, including licensing and collaborative arrangements, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, manufacturing and supply arrangements, and sale of drug royalty rights.
"We are thrilled that Sandy has chosen to join Smith Anderson" said John L. Jernigan, Smith Anderson's Managing Partner. "We believe our life sciences practice offers clients depth and capability unparalleled in our region. Adding Sandy's significant experience and accomplishments in the life sciences arena to our team greatly will benefit our clients whether they are large multi-national pharmaceutical companies, venture backed biotechnology companies, or private equity investors in the life sciences industry."
About Smith Anderson's Life Sciences Practice
Our lawyers have industry-specific and broad-based expertise in the life sciences area. Our clients include pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, medical device companies, pharmaceutical service companies, life sciences-oriented information technology companies, and life sciences-focused venture capital firms and other investors. We are dedicated to using this extensive and diverse experience to achieve exceptional results for clients and to facilitate business relationships among companies in the life sciences sector. Lawyers in this practice also serve on the Boards of Directors of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the North Carolina Biotechnology Industry Organization (NCBio), the Counsel for Entrepreneurial Development (CED), and the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA). Many of our lawyers have joined the firm from large national and international law firms including from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Los Angeles. This group also includes Phil Tracy, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Burroughs Wellcome Co., a predecessor of GlaxoSmithKline.
