Our Technical Experience and Capabilities

Agriculture

The Life Sciences Practice has long been involved in the process of protecting and commercializing agriculture biotechnologies, including hybrid and transgenic plants and animals, pesticides and antiparasitic compounds and formulations, and algal production of food, biofuels and medicinal products. We assist our clients with regulatory issues in the field including representation before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Our attorneys and scientists are also active in legislative and litigation issues involving state and federal support of agricultural biotechnologies. We have assisted agriculture biotechnology companies obtain investment funding as well as promoted federal and state funding for stacked-trait technologies. Our attorneys have experience with litigating issues relating to gene flow and other legal issues related to genetically modified organisms.

Alternative Energy

The Life Sciences Practice works with such diverse alternative energy technologies as mechanical and electrical 'green' energy devices, and energy production using living organisms. We have experience protecting and commercializing a wide variety of alternative energy solutions, including energy produced from algae and hybrid or genetically modified plants having enhanced metabolism of biofuels.

Biologics

The Life Sciences team focuses on protecting and commercializing vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, blood factors, cytokines, and cell-based medical therapies. Our team has over a decade of experience assisting clients with protecting and commercializing these technologies on both a domestic and international level. In addition, we assist clients with legislative issues involving the implementation of policies that support biologics technology development, as well as state and federal funding of cell-based medicines.

Biopharmaceuticals

The Life Sciences Practice assists clients with developing, protecting, and commercializing such technologies as antiviral polyamides, RNA interference (RNAi), RNA activation (RNAa), antisense DNA, and other polynucleotide- and polypeptide-based technologies. We prepare and prosecute patent applications internationally in this area, provide guidance on complex licensing transactions, and draft freedom to operate and validity opinions in the field. In addition, we have experience with Hatch-Waxman regulatory issues to assist us in developing both branded and generics strategies for our clients.

Chemistry

The Life Sciences Practice assists clients with chemical technologies including medicinal chemistry, fuel compositions and additives, polymers and biopolymers, catalysts, dyes, and synthetic processes. We prepare and prosecute patent applications throughout the world in these technical areas, and also provide guidance to our clients with respect to licensing and investment transactions. Our experience in the field of chemistry also includes technologies relating to novel batteries and electrochemical devices.

Medical Devices

Our Life Sciences team has broad experience with medical devices and related technologies directed to the medical profession. We have a wide range of experience with surgical devices, including those related to orthopaedics, spinal, bone, and joint surgery. Our attorneys are accustomed to dealing with surgical imaging and registration systems, and computer-implemented methods for establishing a sterile surgical field and keeping track of instruments within the field. The Life Sciences Practice also has a depth of knowledge in novel computer methods for diagnostics, providing treatment regimens, supplying information to physicians, tracking medications, tracking interactions between medications, tracking patient response to medications, and a wide variety of other computer-implemented methods, particularly in relation to psychiatry and psychiatric compounds. This includes protection of novel peer-to-peer diagnosis, treatment, and education methods for physicians. We also have experience protecting implant devices and processes relating to metal doping techniques.

Pharmaceuticals

The Life Sciences Practice has over a decade of experience preparing and prosecuting patents relating to small molecules that target a number of diseases. We are involved at every stage of opinion drafting, including freedom to operate, validity, Hatch-Waxman and infringement opinions. We assist clients with drafting and negotiating license agreements related to small molecules, as well as conducting patentability searches and competitive intelligence searches. Our team has conducted due diligence for Fortune 500® companies and entrepreneurs on multiple transactions including mergers, acquisitions, collaborations, joint-venture, and initial public offerings (IPO), among others. In addition, we work with Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) that assist our clients in commercializing their pharmaceutical technologies. Our attorneys and consultants advise both branded and generics companies in the regulatory process, assisting with responses to FDA compliance letters, litigating patent infringement and product liability matters, reviewing standard operating procedures and quality assurance procedures, analyzing certified good manufacturing practices (cGMP), and assisting with labeling issues for products that have reached the market. We also assist clients with reimbursement issues and Medicare and Medicaid guideline compliance.

Veterinary and Animal Health

The Life Sciences Practice is broadly experienced in both companion animal and livestock veterinary technologies, including small molecule drugs and biologics (including vaccines, adjuvants and batch processing), nutritional supplements and feed, delivery systems such as implantable devices, and sustained-release formulations. We prepare and prosecute patents in these and other animal health fields. In addition, we prepare freedom to operate and other intellectual property opinions, provide patentability and competitive intelligence information, assist with preparing and negotiating licenses, conduct due diligence in commercial transactions, and work with regulatory agencies including representation before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to guide our clients through the commercialization process.