RECAP: Navigating Business Transactions and Deal-Making in Biotech Workshop

Date: June 30, 2026 @ 12:00 am –
Location: 1633 Old Bayshore Hwy #280, Burlingame, CA 94010

The Chinese-American Bio/Pharmaceutical Society (CABS) successfully launched the “Navigating Business Transactions and Deal-Making in Biotech” event at Palo Alto Square in Palo Alto on May 19th, 2026. The highly anticipated evening was co-hosted by K&L Gates.

The event commenced with a brief introduction of CABS by Sihong Zhou, CABS President, followed by an introduction of K&L Gates by David Lu, Partner at K&L Gates

During the first presentation, David Lu, Partner at K&L Gates, emphasized that intellectual property is the foundation of biotech companies, shaping valuation, partnerships, and innovation strategy. He stressed the importance of thorough due diligence before acquisitions or collaborations, including verifying technology ownership, patent rights, and licensing obligations to avoid future disputes. David also highlighted that strong IP strategies are essential for expanding and enforcing rights globally. He further discussed common legal pitfalls that can jeopardize transactions, particularly unclear patent ownership caused by multiple stakeholders such as universities, research partners, and corporate entities. Missing documentation between inventors and companies, as well as joint ownership tied to academic collaborations or government grants, can create major complications. He warned that overlooked clauses in agreements with institutions or CROs may later surface as liabilities. Overall, David underscored the critical need for maintaining clear, legally sound ownership records from the very beginning.

Following the opening remarks, Linda Zhou, Partner at K&L Gates, took the stage to dissect corporate and transactional aspects in biotech deal-making. She shared insights on the evolving landscape of biotech deal-making and cross-border transactions. She discussed how the once widely used offshore structure biotech transactions has evolved due to the growing international scrutiny, increasing compliance costs and domestic incentives. Linda also presented key differences in M&A and licensing in acquiring and divesting companies’ IP assets. She concluded the discussion by highlighting the transitional stages encountered by the biotech founders, including IPs and equity. Engaging questions are asked and discussed.

Following the presentations, Linda Zhou, Partner at K&L Gates, moderated a fireside chat with Dr. Keting Chu, Founder and CEO of Bluejay Therapeutics, who shared her compelling entrepreneurial journey and the early challenges of building a biotech company. They also discussed the company’s fundraising journey across multiple financing rounds and the challenges of securing investments in difficult times. Dr. Chu reflected on the difficulties of raising capital in the early stages when the company had limited data and resources, emphasizing the importance of persistence, personal networks, and investor confidence in the scientific vision. As the company generated stronger clinical data, investor interest increased significantly, leading to greater momentum in later financing rounds and stronger market validation of the program’s potential. Dr. Chu also emphasized that assembling a trusted core executive team was pivotal to navigating this growth. She reviewed how the early employees were recruited. The strong clinical results and key structural foundations ultimately positioned them for a highly successful exit via acquisition.

Followed by the fireside chat, the audience enjoyed a short networking break with refreshments and beverages generously provided by K&L Gates. The intermission offered attendees an opportunity to connect with fellow professionals and continue conversations sparked during the earlier sessions.

After the break, the program concluded with a panel discussion featuring distinguished leaders from across the biotech industry, including Keting Chu, Shenshen Hu, Yanan Liu, and David Lu. The discussion was moderated by Linda Zhou, who guided conversations on biotech partnerships, strategic transactions, and the evolving global life sciences landscape. Panelists highlighted the rebound of biotech deal activity in 2025–2026, particularly in licensing, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic collaborations involving clinical-stage assets in oncology, immunology, ADCs, and metabolic disease. Speakers emphasized that successful biotech companies must balance scientific innovation with commercial strategy, investor alignment, and long-term value creation. The panel reviewed the rapid acceleration of crossborder biotech partnerships. Panelists noted that deal structures are becoming more sophisticated and flexible while allowing companies to share risk while preserving strategic flexibility. The panel further stressed that intellectual property strategy is critical to biotech valuation and transaction success. Ultimately, the discussion concluded that successful biotech transactions depend not only on strong science, but also on strategic alignment, transparent communication, regulatory planning, and effective partnership execution.

Following the audience Q&A session, the evening concluded with a 30-minute networking session, where attendees continued discussions and connected with fellow professionals across the biotech and investment communities.