Scott D. Karchmer
Scott D. Karchmer counsels entrepreneurs and emerging and established companies in business transactions. Representing global clients in the biotechnology, medical device, software, data analytics, financial services, fintech, and networking and storage industries, he advises companies at critical junctures in their lifecycles. Scott handles formation, raising funds from venture capitalists, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), investments, divestitures, and other issues organizations confront. He also advises venture capital firms and other investors in connection with investments in private companies.
Counseling public companies on securities law, governance, and general corporate matters, Scott represents clients in capital markets transactions. He advises on private investments in public equity (PIPEs), registered direct offerings, convertible debt offerings, 144A offerings, and underwritten offerings.
Scott is the pro bono chair of Morgan Lewis’s San Francisco office. He serves on the board of directors for Legal Services for Children, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that provides legal counsel to individuals under 18. He also volunteers for the Alameda County Food Bank.
M&A Transactions
- Represented Humabs BioMed SA, a developer of treatments against a variety of viral and bacterial infections, in its sale to Vir Biotechnology, Inc.
- Represented ReLIA Diagnostic Systems, medical device company specializing in portable immunoassay system, in its sale to YunFeng Capital
- Represented Eli Lilly & Company in connection with its license, collaboration and investment transaction with Ignyta, Inc. for an alliance to develop cancer therapy taladegib
- Represent H. Lundbeck A/S in connection with its disposition of certain compounds for the potential treatment of Hemoglobinopathies to IMARA Inc. and a related investment
- Represented Shamrock Materials, a supplier of concrete and building materials, in its sale to Vulcan Materials Company
- Represented Autonomic, a technology company that specializes in scale, architecture and leverage for transportation industry solutions, in its sale to Ford
- Represented Viv Labs, an artificial intelligence based platform that will enable developers to distribute their products through an intelligent, conversational interface, in its sale to Samsung Electronics
- Represented Cadence Design Systems Inc. and Cadence Design Systems Pvt. Ltd. in their acquisition of assets and personnel of Sibridge Technologies, a provider of design, verification, and embedded systems development to semiconductors and electronic product companies
- Represented LiveVox, a cloud-based software provider, in its sale to Golden Gate Capital
- Represented Sangamo BioSciences in its acquisition of Ceregene, a company focused on gene therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
- Represented Bend Research in its sale to Capsugel
Private Equity Financing Transactions
- Represented MediSix Therapeutics, a development-stage cell therapy company creating novel therapeutics to target T-cell leukemia and lymphoma, in its $20 million Series A financing from Lightstone Ventures, Temasek and Osage University Partners
- Represented VelosBio Inc., a biotech researching new cancer drugs, in its $58 million Series A Preferred Stock financing with Arix Bioscience, Sofinnova Ventures, DeCheng Ventures and Takeda Ventures
- Represented Ancora Medical, Inc., a developer of new type of catheter for the delivery of post-operative anesthetic, in its Series A Preferred Stock financing with Corestone Biosciences (Beijing)
- Represented Predicine Inc., a developer of precision diagnostics and medicine development platform to enable personalized cancer care and drug development, in Series A Preferred Stock financing
- Represented BioCeryx Inc., a developer of non-invasive pre-natal testing, in its $17 million Series A Preferred Stock financing
- Represent Traina Interactive Corp. (dba IfOnly), a marketplace for experiences, in its Series D Preferred Stock financing with MasterCard, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Sotheby’s, New Enterprise Associates, Founder’s Fund and Khosla Ventures
- Represented Prosetta Biosciences, a biotechnology company, in its $31 million Series D financing from Alger Management and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
- Represented Third Point in the $27 million Series B Preferred Stock financing of Rodin Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of first in class therapeutics for neurological disorders
- Represented Third Point in the $14 million Series C investment of Channel Medsystems, Inc. which focuses on healthcare delivery for women
- Represented Third Point in the $120 million Convertible Notes financing of Kadmon Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on unmet medical needs
- Represented Third Point in the $500 million Series E financing of ContextLogic, Inc., a mobile shopping app
- Represented Third Point in the $800 million Series F investment of Grab, a ride sharing business in Southeast Asia
- Represented Third Point in the $1 billion Series F financing of Social Finance, a non-bank lender that refinances student loans
- Represented HLM Venture Partners in the $25.5 million Series C investment in ClearDATA, a cloud computing company for healthcare
Public Offerings
- Represented SJW Corp.in its first underwritten public offering of 1,321,000 shares of its common stock for gross proceeds of approximately $35 million
- Represented Sangamo BioSciences in the sale of 6.1 million shares of its common stock in a $74.2 million underwritten public offering, as well as the sale of 915,000 additional shares of common stock pursuant to the full exercise of the overallotment option granted to the underwriters
- Represented Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in its investment in the common stock of Intellia Therapeutics Inc., a gene-editing technology company, concurrent with its initial public offering
- Boston College Law School, 1994, J.D.
- Princeton University, 1990, A.B.
- California
- Massachusetts


Recommended, M&A/corporate and commercial: Venture capital and emerging companies, The Legal 500 US (2024, 2025)
Listed, The Legal 500 US (2016)
Member, American Bar Association
Member, State Bar of California, Business Law Section
Director, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, San Francisco Bay Area
