Burns & Levinson's Canadian Subsidiary Helps Variation Biotechnologies Inc. Land More Than $35 Million In Venture Capital Funding

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Burns & Levinson LLP today announced that it served as United States counsel for Variation Biotechnologies Inc., (VBI) a privately held biopharmaceutical company from Ottawa that recently secured $35.7 million in a Series A financing round.

The funding round was led by Clarus Ventures of Cambridge, Mass., and also included ARCH Venture Partners and 5AM Ventures. VBI, which develops vaccines for infectious diseases, will maintain its research and development offices in Canada, according to officials involved in the transaction.

The deal effectively reinforces Burns & Levinson’s standing as being one of the top U.S. law firms conducting cross-border legal transactions, with more than 50 Canadian clients. Burns & Levinson Canada Co., a subsidiary of the firm, started working with Canadian companies in 2002 for the purpose of assisting Canadian and U.S. companies in cross-border transactions and business.

“Since Burns & Levinson is the only Boston law firm with a subsidiary office in Montreal, we feel we have considerable insight into the business issues facing Canadian companies,” said Leonard M. Gold, managing director of Burns & Levinson Canada Co. “This most recent deal with VBI is a prime example of the strong cross-border business relationships we have built.”

Referrals from Burns & Levinson Canada Co. have grown significantly since 2002, with 2006 seeing the most growth over any of the previous four years. The law firm’s Canadian practice is bolstered by Burns & Levinson Canada’s efforts and activities, including the firm’s U.S./Canada Venture Capital Pipeline event series as well as other partnered trade missions.

“We’re proud of our growth, which is testament to the strong team we have in place at Burns & Levinson Canada and Burns & Levinson LLP,” said Gold. “We have a tremendous team of lawyers who understand the critical cross-border legal issues.”

In the most recent transaction, VBI sought Burns & Levinson Canada’s expertise by appearing at one of the law firm’s popular U.S./Canada Venture Capital Pipeline events held at Burns & Levinson’s Boston office. The event links venture capital firms based in the U.S. with Canadian companies seeking financing. The next event will be held today in Boston. Burns & Levinson recently asked PricewaterhouseCoopers (Canada) to partner with them and co-host these events. This partnership will increase both firms’ efforts and interest in Canadian and U.S. cross-border initiatives.

“Canada is a hidden gem that has not been developed yet by United States investors,” said Gold. “We are seeing that start to change largely by the groundwork we have laid over the past five years. An increasing number of venture capital firms are asking us to find deal flow in Canada.”

About Burns & Levinson

Burns & Levinson, with more than 120 attorneys in four offices in New England, as well as one in Washington, D.C., is a full-service Boston-based business law firm. The firm has grown steadily and strategically throughout the years and has become a premier New England-based business law firm with regional, national and international clientele. The firm has expertise in corporate law, finance, venture capital, private equity, tax, bankruptcy, lending and leasing, real estate, intellectual property - including patent law, and business litigation. Burns & Levinson also has a large private clients group that services clients in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust litigation, divorce and other family law issues. In addition, the firm has a wholly-owned subsidiary office in Montreal, Quebec to service its Canadian clients. For more information, visit Burns & Levinson at www.burnslev.com.

Contacts

PAN Communications Andy Baron, 978-474-1900 abaron@pancomm.com

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