Alan C. Mendelson

Of all the companies that Mendelson helped to shepherd through initial public offerings, strategic alignments and other key corporate milestones over the past 18 months, his work with OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Redwood City-based cancer treatment developer, tends to stick out in his mind.

Mendelson had worked closely with OncoMed's CEO, Paul Hastings, for seven years prior to taking a lead role in guiding the company through its $81.6 million IPO in July of last year.

Just five months later, Mendelson helped the company ink a landmark joint development with Celgene Corp. in an effort to accelerate OncoMed's research into six of its anti-cancer stem cell drugs. OncoMed received $177.25 million upfront, but the deal could be worth up to $3 billion in milestone payments if all six drugs are approved.

"It's probably the largest early-stage clinical partnering deal in the history of the industry, with the upfronts and milestones," Mendelson said.

Representing emerging biotechnology companies and drug developers a specialty of Mendelson's often means forging bonds with people that last for years and span across the successes and setbacks that can go along with the research and production of new drug therapies.

"From a lawyer's point of view, it means you live with these companies," Mendelson said. "You go up and down with them and you have to learn how to counsel them when different things occur."

"After all these years of doing it, the relationships that I've been so lucky to have developed are the things that mean the most to you," he added.

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