News

GlycoEra Ltd, a Swiss biotechnology company pioneering best-in-class extracellular protein degraders for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, today announced the closing of a USD 130 million Series B financing. The oversubscribed round was led by Novo Holdings, along with participation from additional new investors LifeArc Ventures, Catalio Capital Management, QIA, MP Healthcare Venture Management, Sixty Degree Capital and Agent Capital. Existing investors, including Sofinnova Partners, 5AM Ventures, Roche Ventures, and Bristol Myers Squibb, also participated. 

Max Klement (Partner of Novo Holdings), Matthew Hobson (Principal of Catalio Capital Management) and Sohaib Mir (Partner at LifeArc Ventures) will join as members of the board of directors of GlycoEra.

BGPartner advised the lead investor Novo Holdings and new investor LifeArc Ventures on all Swiss legal matters and the negotiations of this Series B financing round. The team consisted of Oliver Gnehm (Partner), Victoria Marty (Senior Associate), Tessa Douma (Associate) and Anja Spahni (Associate).

More information about our legal and negotiation expertise can be found here.

The internationally renowned research and consulting institute Great Place to Work® has included BGPartner in the list of Best Workplaces™ Switzerland 2025 – the only law firm to be honoured this year. This recognition officially places BGPartner among Switzerland’s best employers. It stands as a strong affirmation of our culture, our team, and our commitment to being more than just a law firm.

The evaluation was based on an independent and anonymous employee survey, along with a detailed cultural analysis conducted by Great Place to Work®. In the category “Companies with 20–49 employees”, BGPartner secured a place among the Top 15 – a remarkable acknowledgment of our ongoing efforts to foster a respectful, empowering, and trust-based working environment.

This award is both a validation of our efforts and a source of motivation to keep striving:
We remain committed to nurturing a culture where team spirit, flexibility, and shared growth are at the heart of everything we do.

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We are proud to announce that BGPartner has been named “Law Firm of the Year – Healthcare, Life Sciences, Pharma” at the 2025 Legalcommunity Awards in Zurich.

This recognition celebrates our strong track record and deep sector expertise in supporting clients in the life sciences and healthcare sectors – across M&A transactions, financing rounds and complex litigation.

Among our recent highlights:

• advising Araris Biotech on its USD 1.1 billion sale to Taiho Pharmaceutical,
• representing OrbiMed and Novo Holdings in the USD 200 million Series A financing round of Windward Bio,
• and acting for key selling shareholders HBM Healthcare Investments AG, Novo Holdings and Forbion in the USD 1.25 billion spin-off of a Numab subsidiary to Johnson & Johnson.

We would like to thank the Legalcommunity team for this honor, our clients for their continued trust – and our outstanding team for their tireless commitment to excellence in mastering law and negotiation.

BGPartner Attorneys-at-Law and the Negotiation Academy Potsdam (NAP) invite you to a free lunch webinar on Thursday, 19 June 2025, from 12:00 to 13:15 (CET). The focus: How can you remain calm, confident, and effective at the negotiation table – even in times of crisis?

From economic turmoil to geopolitical tension and internal disruptions – crises challenge our ability to communicate clearly and make sound decisions. In this webinar, four renowned experts from academia and practice will share insights and strategies to help you negotiate effectively under pressure:

• Prof. Dr. Uta Herbst (NAP)
• Prof. Dr. Markus Voeth (NAP)
• Elena Mégevand (BGPartner)
• Oliver Gnehm (BGPartner)

Participants will gain practical tools and fresh perspectives on navigating difficult conversations, maintaining strategic clarity, and reaching resilient agreements – even when the heat is on.

Free participation – registration required.
Once registered, you will receive an automatic access link to the Microsoft Teams event.

Register here

In the 2025 Bilanz ranking, BGPartner has once again been recognised as one of Switzerland’s leading law firms. In the category of Private Equity and Venture Capital, the firm was awarded the highest rating of 5 stars, as in previous years.

The ranking is based on a survey conducted by Statista on behalf of Handelszeitung and Bilanz. More than 27,000 professionals and clients were invited to evaluate law firms across 31 areas of law.

BGPartner sees this repeated recognition as confirmation of its long-standing expertise and focus on complex transactional mandates.

We thank all our employees for their daily commitment and our clients for their continued trust.

To the Bilanz Ranking 2025