Deborah L. Spranger

Debbie advises strategic acquirers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions. She applies decades of experience to lead deal teams for public, private, and international companies in the life sciences, manufacturing, health care, and technology industries. Debbie has extensive experience managing multijurisdictional cross-border acquisitions, complex divestitures, and carve-outs. Clients value her high-level strategic guidance as well as her relentless focus on the details.

Debbie also counsels companies on internal restructurings and general corporate governance matters. She acts as outside general counsel to several emerging and growth-stage companies, managing a wide variety of commercial arrangements, including distribution, reseller, manufacturing, service, and supply agreements. Debbie is also one of the firm’s most experienced attorneys in the clinical contracting space, advising large pharmaceutical companies on all non-regulatory aspects of their clinical contracts.

Debbie is co-chair of the Health Care & Life Sciences Industry Group and serves as practice group head of the Life Sciences Transactions group.

Health and Life Sciences

• Represented a global pharmaceutical company in terminating and unwinding a decade-long research collaboration arrangement with a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company.
• Counseled a large global pharmaceutical company in the disposition of noncore assets, including the recent sale of certain marketed cardiovascular products for $50 million plus certain contingent consideration.
• Counseled a specialty biopharma company focused on developing novel antibiotics to treat multidrug resistant infections in multiple research collaboration arrangements with a global pharmaceutical company.
• Represented one of the largest privately owned owner-operators of nursing homes in Pennsylvania in connection with their acquisition, disposition, and finance transactions.
• Assisted in the sale of a large women’s health care provider network to a private equity-backed buyer, and the subsequent acquisition of the PE vehicle by another PE company.
• Assisted a full-service pharma regulatory and CMC consulting company in its acquisition by a French private equity based regulatory compliance company, including representing company management in their equity investment in the combined company.

Manufacturing and Technology

• Represented a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electro-magnetic devices in numerous domestic and international acquisitions with transaction values ranging from $30 million to $2 billion.
• Assisted a U.S. distributor of transparent noise barriers in its sale to a Canadian competitor.
• Represented a Swiss biological pest control company in the negotiation of a distribution arrangement with a major U.S. agricultural chemical and seed company.
• Served as outside general counsel to a specialty provider of business and financial management software and services for clinical trials, including in its sale to a UK-based, private equity-backed company.
• Represented a private equity-backed provider of clinical site selection, startup, and operations solutions in multiple roll-up acquisitions, and in its ultimate sale to one of the largest clinical research organizations in the world.
• Counseled a leading provider of mobile technology for patient engagement in its acquisition by a global provider of clinical trial technology and specialty services.
• Represented a clinical data management company in its sale to a leading eClinical provider to global pharma, biotech, and CROs.

• Finalist, “Most Effective DealMaker,” The Legal Intelligencer (2024)
• Chambers USA: Corporate/M&A and Private Equity, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia & Surrounds (2021-2025)
• “Best of the Bar,” Philadelphia Business Journal (2021)
• “U.S.A. Top Women Dealmaker Award,” Global M&A Network (2021)
• Finalist, “Attorney of the Year,” The Legal Intelligencer (2017)