Megan R. Baca

As the co-head of her firm’s global IP transactions practice, Megan R. Baca has advised buyers and sellers in a number of large corporate transactions.

For instance, in late 2021, she represented McAfee in a $14 billion sale to several international investment bodies that took the cybersecurity company private. And in one of the largest tech deals that same year, she represented TPG Capital as it invested $1.8 billion to purchase a minority share of DirecTV from AT&T to create a standalone business valued at $16.25 billion.

This past December, she advised TPG again as it sold Wind River Systems, which develops embedded systems and cloud software, for $4.3 billion to Dublin-based automotive technology company Aptiv. The deal required approvals from regulators in countries from Brazil to the U.K. to Romania, as well as the U.S.

But as the co-head of what Ropes & Gray calls its digital health initiative, Baca specializes in technology deals involving drug and health science companies. And in that arena, she is most excited about deals involving companies that use artificial intelligence.

“Artificial intelligence is entering pretty much every industry, and every industry is scrambling to figure out how to use it [and] how not to use it, and they know all of their competitors are doing the same,” she said. In particular, she and her colleagues are seeing a growing focus on using AI and machine learning to develop tools, technologies and products for life sciences and health care.

So far, life science companies are using AI for three purposes, and Baca has put together deals in each. One goal is the development of new drugs. Last summer, she advised Atomwise on a collaboration agreement with Sanofi to use the smaller company’s AI tools to identify small molecules with therapeutic potential based on structure.

She helped Genesis Therapeutics set up a similar AI-based arrangement with Ely Lilly.

Many companies are also developing AI technology for use in analyzing medical imagery and video to improve patient care. Baca represents leading companies in that field, including advising PathAI on intellectual property and licensing strategy.

The third way AI can be used in medicine is in gathering and analyzing mountains of data. Baca represented investment firm Sixth Street in its $150 million equity investment in ConcertAI, which she said is building data platforms for pharmaceutical companies using real-world information about “how in the real world are patients actually reacting to drugs and … their treatment courses.”

“I think AI is definitely having its moment, and we’re seeing it across a huge range of different deals,” she said.

Baca said the application of technology to medicine and health sciences “is poised for absolutely tremendous growth. We call it digital health today. I think we’re just going to call it health tomorrow. All health will be health with technology.”

— Don DeBenedictis