Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners was founded in 1995 as Leerink Swann LLC.[1][3] The following year, the bank established MEDACorp expert network as a joint venture with Dr. Dan Dubin.[1] It acted as a strategic knowledge resource at Leerink, using validation of new products and commercial viability in the assessment of company financials, and corporate due diligence in the medial field as part of a merger and acquisition advisory or capital raising.[1]

In 1999, Inc. named the bank as one of America's 500 fastest growing private companies.[4]

A 2010 probe into expert network focused on potential for conflict of interest and insider dealings through expert network across the entire industry.[5] The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigated a 2009 merger between Cougar Biotech and Johnson & Johnson in which Leerink advised Cougar.[6] MedaTech client SAC Capital had been an investor in Cougar Biotech. The focus of the investigation was whether any information about the transaction flowed from Leerink via MedaTech to SAC.[6] According to Leerink, the firm operated strict information barriers.[7] Speculations about MedaTech's shut down as part of the investigation proved unfounded.[8][9]

In 2012, the SEC charged a former Leerink analyst for insider trading. The analyst had obtained confidential information about a merger transaction Leerink was working on and passed this information on to a friend to place trades on his behalf. The analyst gained around $600,000 from this investment and was later sentenced for insider trading.[10][11]

In 2014, Leerink Swann was rebranded as Leerink Partners LLC,[12] which by 2019, was called SVB Leerink, and was acquired by SVB Financial Group.[13]

In 2022, SVB acquired media and telecom research company MoffettNathanson.[14] Further, SVB Leerink was rebranded as SVB Securities LLC.[15]

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March 2023, the management of SVB Securities planned to buy back their firm from the parent group.[16]

On March 17, 2023, SVB Securities' parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but it was not included in the Chapter 11 filing.[17]

On June 18, 2023, SVB Financial Group agreed to sell SVB Securities in a management buyout led by the latter's CEO, Leerink. The deal, backed by funds managed by the Baupost Group, includes $55 million in cash besides repayment of $26 million in debt and assumption of other liabilities. MoffettNathanson LLC, the company's research business, was not included in the sale.[18] In July 2023, the buyout was approved in bankruptcy court, and SVB Securities was renamed to Leerink Partners.[19]