Ryan M. Enchelmayer

Ryan’s practice focuses on life sciences transactions and other strategic deals. Ryan works with innovative life sciences companies across a range of markets, locations and stages of development to in-license, sponsor, research, develop, protect, manufacture, scale up, market and sell, distribute, license-out and further commercialize their successful programs, products and service offerings. Ryan also helps life science and other technology-driven companies to partner and build new programs and collaborations, to acquire assets, products, programs and businesses, to prepare for and engage in strategic sale and related transactions, and to procure, scaffold and deploy supporting technologies, components, development, supply and other critical services relationships and key dependencies.

His practice includes helping obtain foundational licenses and counseling start-up clients through their earliest stages of development, including the negotiation of numerous licenses, sponsored research and other key development and supply-related transactions with various universities, research and health institutions, such as: UC Berkeley, UCSD, UCLA and other University of California campuses and groups, Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Scripps Research (formerly The Scripps Research Institute), University of Notre Dame, University of Florida, University of Connecticut, University of Cincinnati, University of Portland, and other U.S. and non-U.S. public and private universities and colleges. Ryan has also negotiated licensing, collaboration and other material strategic deals opposite companies such as Illumina, Sanofi, Novartis, United Therapeutics, AbbVie, Exact Sciences, BioMarin, and other leading companies in their respective fields.

He has negotiated pharmaceutical and medical device product, program and related supply-chain acquisitions, representing major industry leaders (e.g., Merck, Organon, and Merck Animal Health, etc.) and other public and private pharmaceutical companies, as well as helping founders build and finance businesses around pharmaceutical program acquisitions (including from publicly-traded sellers as Novartis and Verastem Oncology). He has also worked on major collaborative development projects for clients such as Amgen and deCODE genetics, partnering with university, health system and other major biotech and pharmaceutical development companies (such as AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bayer, and others) to facilitate whole genome sequencing (WGS) of an unprecedented number of samples with resulting data for use in drug discovery and therapeutic development. Ryan has also negotiated and closed a number of biotech royalty and milestone acquisition transactions.

Ryan also has extensive private equity experience (including significant transaction experience representing life sciences, healthcare and other technology-focused private equity buyers and sellers, as well as representing companies in the fields of life sciences, healthcare and other health-involved fields) and other life sciences and technology-focused strategic and complex M&A transactions. He has also counseled and negotiated many other forms of commercial, development, licensing and related transactions through a broad range of domestic and international deals, including complex carve-out M&A transactions, cross-licensing arrangements and collaborations, investments, manufacturing and supply arrangements, services, investment financings, lending transactions (representing borrowers, lenders and other interested parties) and other IP-focused transactions and relationships.

He represents public and private companies, founders, investors, buyers, sellers and other interest holders in a variety of industries and stages, and regularly counsels them on the development, protection, sharing and enforcement of their important technologies and IP rights.

Ryan received his J.D. from Berkeley Law (University of California, Berkeley, School of Law), where he was a member of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal and the Berkeley Business Law Journal. Prior to law school, he graduated summa cum laude from UCSD (University of California, San Diego), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Ryan is also a member of the California Lawyers for the Arts (CLA), San Diego Steering Committee.

Prior to joining Gunderson Dettmer, Ryan was an attorney in the Life Sciences and Healthcare and IP Transactions and Licensing practices of Paul Hastings LLP, where he also focused on life sciences, technology and commercial transactions, in addition to advising clients on trademark strategies and prosecution matters, licensing and settlements in connection with the resolution of IP-related disputes, and also coordinated San Diego pro bono initiatives.