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.

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Career

Since 2020	Partner, Taylor Wessing LLP
2015 - 2020	Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, Cambridge
2010 - 2015	Partner, Paul Hastings LLP, London

2002 - 2009

Lawyer, Herbert Smith

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Education

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

Additional languages

English

Expertise

Services and Groups Corporate/M&A & capital markets Venture capital

Sectors Life sciences & healthcare Technology, media & communications Cryptoassets, blockchain and distributed ledger technology

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.
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.
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.

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
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
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

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Awards

Chambers and Partners UK 2023	Corporate/M&A (mid-market and private equity) - Band 3: Ross McNaughton heads up the Cambridge corporate department at Taylor Wessing and represents a variety of technology and pharmaceutical clients in complex acquisitions. He also has strong expertise in financing matters. "Ross McNaughton has strong knowledge and sector experience."
Legal 500 UK 2023	‘A strength of Taylor Wessing is the depth of knowledge and expertise across different legal areas, and we were able to access this on a particularly complex transaction under the truly excellent leadership of Ross McNaughton.’ ‘Ross McNaughton and Adrian Toutoungi are our go-to partner specialists.’
Legal 500 UK 2022	Venture capital
Legal 500 UK 2022	Corporate and commercial - Cambridge (Leading individual): "Ross McNaughton was a key negotiating ally in our dealings with both investors and potential acquirers. He was able to lead complex and difficult interactions with third parties in a pragmatic and ultimately successful manner." "Ross McNaughton performed superbly during deal negotiations. His tenacity and ability to direct a legal team is commendable."
Legal 500 UK 2022	Biotechnology
Legal 500 2020	Recognised as a notable practitioner

Legal 500 UK 2022

Venture capital

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