Ross McNaughton

Ross is a partner in the Corporate Technology & Life Sciences team, based in our Cambridge office.

Ross is a lead partner within the firm's Tier 1-ranked Biotechnology practice in Cambridge. His practice involves helping life sciences and technology companies as they progress through their life cycle in all aspects of their growth, capital raising and international expansion. As a sector specialist, Ross focuses on biotech, medical devices and diagnostics within Life Sciences, and with the Tech sector supports companies operating in the capital intensive deep tech space, including quantum computing, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, as well as web3.

Ross has extensive experience of a variety of venture and growth financing, public capital raisings, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate advice. Ross was based out of San Francisco, CA in 2018 – 19 and as a result, he has a particular expertise in transactions with a transatlantic component.

CV

Since 2020 Partner, Taylor Wessing LLP

2015 - 2020 Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, Cambridge

2010 - 2015 Partner, Paul Hastings LLP, London

Karriere

Since 2020 Partner, Taylor Wessing LLP

2015 - 2020 Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, Cambridge

2010 - 2015 Partner, Paul Hastings LLP, London

Ausbildung

2018 Admitted as a foreign legal consultant, state bar of California

2004 Admitted as a lawyer, England and Wales

2001 LPC and Post Graduate Degree in Law, Nottingham Law School

Fremdsprachen

Awards

Legal 500 UK 2025

Featured

Legal 500 UK 2025

Chambers and Partners UK 2023

Mehr

Experience

Advising gene therapy company AlveoGene on its complex spinout and launch investment

We have advised AlveoGene, a new UK gene therapy company on its complex spinout from the Gene Therapy Consortium of Imperial College and the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh focusing on rare respiratory diseases, as well as on its seed round investment.

Press release

Colin McCall

Ross McNaughton

Bella Thornton-Clark

Advising on transformational life sciences combinations and cross-over rounds

Ross was the lead partner on the transformational roll-up and $250 million cross-over financing of Centessa Pharmaceuticals, representing eight cutting-edge UK and European biotech companies on their participation in a newly established holding company focused on the development of innovative new treatments. Ross was also the lead partner on the combination of three New Science Ventures-backed companies under Ventyx Biosciences Inc in the context of its concurrent $114 million financing led by venBio Partners.

Ross McNaughton

Acting on venture growth rounds for leading life sciences and tech businesses

Ross constantly acts for leading growth companies and investors on their funding rounds, including recently Cambridge Epigenetix on its $88 million series D funding round led by Temasek, Envelop Risk on its $130 million round led by SoftBank, and Oxbotica on its $47 million series B investment.

Ross McNaughton

Advising on transformational and strategic M&A

Ross is an expert on mergers and acquisitions within the life sciences and tech sectors, including advising Nuclera Nucleics on its transformational acquisition of the digital microfluidics business from E Ink Holdings Inc, advising Qubit on its acquisition by Coveo Solutions Inc, advising Cambridge AI company SciBite on its sale to Elsevier, and advising on Telensa's sale to Signify

Ross McNaughton

Capital Markets expertise

Ross has worked previously in-house at an investment bank on their ECM execution desk and has worked on several life sciences and technology capital markets transactions, including recently advising on the £6m placing by Arecor Therapeutics plc in its acquisition for Tetris Pharma and the £25 million placing by Induction Healthcare Group plc in its acquisition of Attend Anywhere

Ross McNaughton

Spin-outs and early stage companies

Ross has acted for companies on their creation and spin-out from the UK's leading universities and research institutes, including Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, University College London, Birmingham, Exeter, the Sanger Institute, CRUK and others

Ross McNaughton