1. Home
  2. People
  3. Thau, Stephen

Stephen Thau

Partner

New York

Silicon Valley

Stephen Thau is co-chair of the Life Sciences & HealthTech Group at Orrick and is a partner in the firm's Technology Companies Group. He is a strategic advisor to life sciences and technology companies, guiding them through various milestones of their life cycle.

Stephen’s practice focuses on the representation of life science, medical device, health IT, and other technology companies in transactional matters, including public and private financings, licensing, collaborations and strategic alliances, and mergers and acquisitions. He also represents venture capital firms in public and private financing transactions.

Stephen is recognized as a Leading Life Sciences Lawyer by LMG Life Sciences in their 2021/2022 rankings and short-listed as Venture Capital Attorney of the Year. He has served as a member of the Board of Tech Council of Maryland, the leading technology and life science association in that state, and of BayBio, Northern California’s leading life sciences association. Stephen is a frequent speaker on venture capital financings and served on the faculty at the 2005 and 2007 Emerging Entrepreneurs workshops at Stanford University.

Prior to joining Orrick, Stephen was a partner at Morrison & Foerster, Venture Law Group and Heller Ehrman. He began his legal practice as a litigator, focusing on securities and intellectual property. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Vaughn R. Walker in the United States District Court in the Northern District of California. Stephen graduated Order of the Coif from Stanford Law School, where he was managing editor of the Stanford Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in Biology.

  • Selected Private Company Equity Financings

    • Neuspera Medical in its Series A, Series B, Series C and Series D financings
    • Totus Medicines in its Series B financing
    • Corsair Therapeutics in its Series B financing
    • Accompany Health in its Series A financing
    • BioEclipse in its Series A financing
    • Medical Microinstruments Inc. in its Series B and Series C financings
    • Aledade in its Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D and Series E financings

    Selected Public Company Financings

    • Clover Health in its $3.7 billion de-SPAC transaction
    • Menlo Therapeutics in its $119 initial public offering
    • Catalyst Biosciences in its $115 million public offering
    • GKCC in multiple financings with Elicio Therapeutics
    • DURECT Corporation in all of its public financing transactions, including its $92.4 million initial public offering, $37 million follow-on offering, $60 million 144A convertible debt offering and $10 million registered direct offering

    Selected Licensing, Mergers and Acquisitions

    • Catalyst Biosciences $60 million asset sale to Vertex Pharmaceuticals
    • Catalyst Biosciences in its reverse merger with GNI group
    • Totus Medicines in its Collaboration and Development Agreement with Eli Lilly
    • CNS Therapeutics, Inc. in its approximately $100 million sale to the Mallinckrodt division of Covidien
    • Leaf Healthcare in its acquisition by Smith & Nephew
    • Spitfire Pharma, Inc. in its sale to Altimmune
    • Catalyst Biosciences, in its collaboration with Isu Abxis to develop Factor IX candidate for the prevention/treatment of bleeding in hemophilia B patients
    • Threshold Pharmaceuticals, in its $550 million license and co- development agreement with Merck KGaA