What Locust Walk Partners does

Locust Walk is a global life science investment bank founded in Boston in 2008 that advises founders, executives, and board members of biotech and biopharmaceutical companies on strategic transactions. Its core service lines are sell-side strategic dealmaking (M&A advisory), licensing transactions, financing advisory, specialty pharma advisory, Asia cross-border transactions, and NewCo creation. The firm operates from five offices across three countries—Boston, San Francisco, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing—and a 44-person team has closed more than 80 transactions over its 17-year history, including the $416M sale of Checkpoint Therapeutics to Sun Pharma and the ~$413M sale of DURECT to Bausch Health.

Revenue is generated through professional services advisory fees tied to transaction completion; pricing is not publicly disclosed and engagements are bespoke rather than subscription-based. The firm monetizes primarily via M&A success fees and licensing transaction commissions. Its primary customer segments are enterprise biotech and biopharma companies, with founders, executives, and board members acting as the buyer personas. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales through senior banker relationships, supplemented by thought-leadership content (Biotalk podcast, quarterly market reports, white papers) and co-hosted events such as the Align Summit with MassBio and McKinsey.

In May 2026 Locust Walk spun out Banyan BioInnovations, a development-driven investment firm that builds clinical-stage NewCos around best- or first-in-class drug assets, backed by more than $100M in initial commitments from life science investors and a strategic partnership with CRO Icon plc. This extends the platform beyond pure advisory into equity-linked company creation. The firm also previously took Locust Walk Acquisition Corp. public on NASDAQ (LWAC) in 2021, which merged with eFFECTOR Therapeutics. Locust Walk Securities, a wholly owned subsidiary, is a FINRA/SIPC member for securities offerings.

Name

Locust Walk Partners

Legal name

Locust Walk

Website

https://locustwalk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Locust Walk is a global life science investment bank advising biotech and pharmaceutical founders, executives, and boards on M&A, licensing, financing, and NewCo creation, with offices in Boston, San Francisco, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Strategic Transaction Advisory: Locust Walk generates revenue through advisory fees for strategic transactions including M&A deals, licensing agreements, and financing processes. The firm acts as exclusive financial advisor to clients in sell-side and buy-side transactions, with compensation typically tied to transaction completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Locust Walk Partners is a global life science investment bank that provides strategic transaction advisory services to biotech, biopharma, and specialty pharma clients. Its services span sell-side M&A, buy-side advisory, licensing transactions, Asia cross-border deals, NewCo creation, and dedicated specialty pharma advisory. The firm also operates Banyan BioInnovations, a biopharma investment vehicle backed by more than $100M in initial commitments from life science investors.

Product overview

Locust Walk is a global life science investment bank offering advisory and transaction services. The core offerings include sell-side strategic dealmaking, Asia cross-border transactions, NewCo creation, and specialty pharma advisory. The platform is powered by Banyan BioInnovations, an investment firm that builds clinical-stage companies around promising drug assets and provides centralized development infrastructure. Additional offerings include the Biotalk podcast, annual Align Summit conferences, and proprietary market reports and white papers on biopharma trends.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Co-founder Mentality™: A proprietary approach focused on partnering with innovators, characterized by local teams embedded in key markets and deep understanding of how science and data translate into actionable transactions.
• Banyan BioInnovations
• Locust Walk Acquisition Corp.
• Biotalk
• Align Summit

Products and services

• Sell-Side Strategic Dealmaking Advisory mandate in which Locust Walk Partners acts as exclusive sell-side advisor to biotech, biopharma, and specialty pharma companies on strategic transactions.
• NewCo Creation Advisory service for biotech and biopharma clients seeking to spin out and capitalize NewCo entities built around clinical-stage or early commercial-stage drug assets.
• Asia Transactions Cross-border advisory service supporting U.S.–Asia life science transactions, executed via Locust Walk's offices in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing.
• Specialty Pharma Advisory Dedicated advisory service for specialty pharma clients, addressing their specific strategic transaction and capital needs within Locust Walk's life science investment banking practice.
• Banyan BioInnovations Biopharma investment vehicle launched by Locust Walk Partners, seeded with more than $100M in initial commitments from life science investors and led by President Barbara White, supporting NewCo formation and capital deployment in life sciences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Premium of 217% upfront to 2,109% with CVRs for DURECT transaction
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Icon plccoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2026Strategic collaboration and investment from Icon plc, a world-leading clinical research organization. This reflects a shared belief that a close partnership between sponsor and CRO leads to more thorough due diligence, better designed and faster executed trials, clear commercialization strategy, and a more collaborative approach to drug development. Icon provides clinical trial expertise to Banyan BioInnovations NewCos.
• BioBreakminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2006Members-only network connecting executive life science and investor communities. Founded in Philadelphia in 2006 by Geoff Meyerson, Locust Walk has played a key role in strengthening BioBreak's reach and impact.
• MassBiocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosts the annual Align Summit with MassBio and McKinsey & Co., bringing together leaders from biopharma, academia, and the investment community to highlight emerging science and industry trends.
• McKinsey & CompanycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosts the annual Align Summit with MassBio and McKinsey & Co. to spotlight emerging biotech innovation and foster meaningful connections across the ecosystem.
• BIO InternationalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides executive development programming through BIO International, offering practical guidance on capital raising and company building.
• LabCentralminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProvides executive development programming through LabCentral, offering practical guidance on capital raising and company building.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Canaccord Genuity (Healthcare): Healthcare investment banking team within Canaccord Genuity covering biotech M&A, licensing, and equity capital markets. Directly comparable boutique-to-mid-market life sciences advisory competitor.
• ThinkEquity: Boutique investment bank focused on emerging growth and life sciences, providing capital markets and advisory services to small/mid-cap biotech. Highly comparable client segment and boutique positioning to Locust Walk.
• Chardan Capital Markets: Boutique investment bank with a healthcare and life sciences franchise advising biotech clients on capital markets and strategic transactions. Comparable niche boutique positioning in the life sciences advisory market.
• H.C. Wainwright & Co. Boutique investment bank specializing in life sciences and healthcare with a heavy focus on biotech equity raises and M&A. Closely matches Locust Walk's boutique scale and biotech vertical.
• Maxim Group: Boutique full-service investment bank with a long-standing healthcare and life sciences practice serving small- and mid-cap biotech clients. Comparable boutique scale and biotech mandate profile.
• Leerink Partners: Historically the most direct US life sciences-focused investment bank, providing M&A, equity research, and capital markets advisory to biotech and medtech clients. Highly comparable to Locust Walk in vertical focus and boutique-mid-market positioning.
• Piper Sandler (Healthcare Investment Banking): Diversified mid-market bank with a sizeable healthcare M&A practice covering biopharma, medtech, and services. Directly comparable transaction profile and target client base to Locust Walk's biotech mandates.
• Robert W. Baird (Healthcare Investment Banking): Mid-market investment bank with a healthcare vertical covering biopharma M&A and capital raising. Comparable in client segment focus and deal size range to Locust Walk's mandate profile.

Broad incumbents

• Guggenheim Securities (Healthcare): Larger full-service bank with a dedicated healthcare practice advising biotech, pharma, and life sciences tools clients. Overlaps with Locust Walk on M&A and licensing mandates from a broader platform.
• Jefferies (Healthcare Group): Bulge-bracket bank with one of the largest dedicated healthcare investment banking franchises. Competes with Locust Walk for biotech M&A and licensing mandates but offers far broader sector coverage and capital markets capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiJB5ngYfICGV9H34PaUzhg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/locustwalk
• Xx.com/locustwalkptrs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Locust Walk Partners