Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has advised Definiens, a leading Germany-based firm specializing in immunotherapy, in its acquisition by MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.

Definiens, founded by Physics Nobel Laureate Professor Gerd Binning, is the leading provider of image analysis and data mining solutions for tissue diagnostics and clinical digital pathology. Definiens technology provides detailed cell-by-cell readouts from target structures on tissue slides and allows the correlation of this information with data derived from other sources, generating new knowledge and supporting better decisions in research, diagnostics and therapy. The acquisition will strengthen MedImmune’s focus on the discovery of novel predictive biomarkers in immuno-oncology.

Under the terms of the agreement, MedImmune will acquire 100 percent of Definiens’ shares for an initial consideration of $150 million and make additional predetermined milestone payments. Definiens will continue to operate its business with third-party customers.

The Orrick team advising long-standing client Definiens was led by partners Jorg Ritter and Stefan Weinheimer and included partners Stefan Schultes-Schnitzlein and Till Steinvorth, associates Thomas Strassner and Lara Finken, and counsel Timo Holzborn.