Smith Anderson Partner Gerald F. Roach Elected to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center's Board of Directors

Smith Anderson is pleased to announce that Gerald F. Roach has been elected to the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

Established in 1984 by the State of North Carolina, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center became the world's first government-sponsored organization dedicated to developing the biotechnology industry. The organization seeks to facilitate long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business and education statewide. The Board of Directors includes a cross-section of executives and leaders from North Carolina's for-profit, non-profit, higher education and governmental sectors, united by a desire to develop a strong biotechnology presence in the state.

Mr. Roach heads Smith Anderson's Corporate Practice Group, honored by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as "blessed with having one of the largest and most respected [corporate/mergers & acquisitions] teams in the market." Recognizing the strength of Smith Anderson's Corporate/M&A practice, three of the top seven corporate/mergers & acquisitions partners ranked by Chambers in North Carolina are partners at Smith Anderson, including Mr. Roach. Additionally, Smith Anderson is the only law firm in the state to have four corporate/mergers & acquisitions lawyers ranked.

Mr. Roach regularly represents companies in complex life sciences transactions. His practice involves public offerings, domestic and international mergers and acquisitions; joint ventures; general corporate matters; corporate governance, private financings; technology law; and advising boards of directors and special committees. He also regularly represents public and private growth companies and private equity firms with their general corporate needs and domestic and international transactions.

Mr. Roach has been involved in numerous transactions valued at over $10 billion in the past five years. He was lead lawyer on two of the Triangle's largest transactions, representing Quintiles Transnational Corp. in its $1.8 billion merger and Triangle Pharmaceuticals in its $500 million merger. He was lead counsel in the first North Carolina biotechnology company, Embrex, to go public in 1991 and in the sale of Embrex to Pfizer this year.