Transaction Case Studies
R&D Collaboration Term Sheet Negotiation for Prazer’s Preclinical Stage Asset Leading to Substantial Increase in Upfront and Total Deal Value
Situation Assessment
Prazer Therapeutics is a Korean-based biotechnology company focused on developing orally available, brain-penetrating small molecule therapeutics with a novel approach to targeted protein degradation
Prazer is developing novel targeted protein degraders utilizing their proprietary SPiDEM® Technology, initially focused within neurodegenerative disease
Locust Walk initially began discussions with Prazer in late 2024 to help with strategic partnerships and fostered the relationship over the next 6 months, meeting again at the BIO conference in June 2025. As Prazer was approached by J&J in late 2025, trust had been built with the Locust Walk team so Prazer began a formal engagement with Locust Walk to assist in term sheet discussions with the J&J team, ultimately leading to improved deal terms over the course of a rapid-paced 8-week negotiation
Key Activities
Worked closely with outside legal counsel and the Prazer management team to negotiate with Johnson & Johnson to maximize the value of the collaboration
Built a comprehensive DCF model and analyzed multiple comparable strategic transactions for early-stage licensing deals within neurodegenerative indications to provide validation to background valuation assumptions in support of negotiations
Led negotiations on term sheets and deal documents, providing robust rationale for counter offers and also supporting Prazer on key non-economic terms in the agreement
Offered strategic advice and provided competitive intelligence support, enabling increased preparedness and streamlined conversations between Prazer and J&J
Successful Outcome
Successfully negotiated significant improvements in economics leading to substantial increases in both upfront and total deal value to materially impact the value of the agreement for Prazer
Ensured key issues were addressed on a rapid timeline resulting in a signed agreement in less than 8 weeks after submission of the initial non-binding offer