Frits Gerritzen heads Allen & Overy Amsterdam’s intellectual property team. He is an experienced IP litigator, handling cases concerning the enforcement and validity of IP rights. He focuses primarily on patents and has broad experience in handling cross-border patent cases in the field of medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and antibodies.

In addition, Gerritzen provides advice on R&D agreements and technical collaborations in which IP rights play an important role. He has broad experience in drafting and negotiating licence agreements and structuring IP portfolios.

 

Daphne Lainson specialises in securing patent protection for chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnology-related inventions. She also provides advice to clients on pharmaceutical regulatory law. This includes providing strategic advice during patent prosecution and following patent grant for both pharmaceuticals and biologics.

Lainson is called upon to advise innovative pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies in matters relating to data protection, the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations and the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. She is a lawyer, a qualified patent and trademark agent, and holds an advanced degree in chemistry. She has been assisting clients with securing patent protection for their innovations for more than 15 years.

Kimya Harris, Senior Director, Intellectual Property, ImmunoGen

Dr Kimya Harris has been at ImmunoGen since 2012. She is responsible for all aspects of ImmunoGen’s IP practice around R&D of ImmunoGen’s antibody drug conjugate (ADC) technology. Her work includes developing and implementing IP strategies in the US and worldwide for ImmunoGen’s extensive patent portfolio covering antibodies, ADCs, payload and linker chemistry, manufacturing, and clinical development of ImmunoGen’s ADC products. Harris also works with key stakeholders at ImmunoGen in her role as a member of the product development teams for ImmunoGen’s clinical candidates.   

Harris spent 10 years in private practice as a registered patent agent managing complex patent portfolios for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions. She has a PhD in molecular biology from the University of Michigan and continued her research in cancer biology as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School before pursuing her career in patent law.   

Ahmed Mousa, Vice President Licensing, IP & Legal Affairs, Pieris Pharmaceuticals

Pieris Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics in asthma, immuno-oncology and other disease areas based on its proprietary Anticalin® platform. Ahmed Mousa is responsible for all legal and IP activities, including the company’s licence and collaboration agreements and management of the global patent portfolio.

Mousa was previously an attorney with Covington & Burling LLP, representing pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in a range of IP matters, a law clerk at the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and an IP associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

He obtained undergraduate degrees in molecular biology and government from Cornell University. Before his legal career, Mousa was a research scientist with a focus in tumour biology and angiogenesis. He graduated from Georgetown Law with honours, and was the editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Journal of International Law.

 

Lydia McNally is vice president, patent head for Novartis Oncology and the US Patent Department site head. McNally and her team have global responsibility for all patent matters for the Oncology Business at Novartis, including drafting and prosecution, transactions and litigation.

She has been a patent attorney for more than 25 years and has been with Novartis for more than 17 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Colgate University, a Master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Vermont, and a Juris Doctor degree from Albany Law School.

 

Brendan O’Malley has experience in all aspects of IP law and represents clients in a broad range of pharmaceutical and biotechnology cases including litigations at the district court level through trial and before the Federal Circuit on appeal, as well as inter partes review proceedings before the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

O’Malley also represents clients in international arbitration proceedings and counsels clients on complex IP issues and in connection with mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. He is vice chair of the firm’s biotechnology and biologics industry group.

 

Larry Coury is senior director of dispute resolution and a registered patent attorney at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown, NY. His responsibilities include overseeing all litigation matters, including patent matters, as well as assisting with post-grant review proceedings in the US and foreign patent offices.

Prior to joining Regeneron, Coury worked at several law firms: Fish & Neave, Paul Weiss, and Cravath. He is admitted to practise in the NY and CT state courts, various federal district courts, and the Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit.

Coury received his BS in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his PhD in biophysics from Harvard University, and his JD from Fordham Law School, where he was editor of the Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal. He has also worked at Harvard Medical School and at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

 

Dr S. Sam Li is a senior partner at Wan Hui Da. He leads the firm’s patent and technology litigation practice. Li has counselled many world-leading companies on their IP rights needs in China.

Prior to his private practice in China, he served as the Asia general counsel for a leading chemical company and practised law in premier US firms. Li received his science degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry and biotechnology and law degree from the George Washington University Law School.

 

Jiancheng Jiang is a senior partner at Wan Hui Da. He is dual-qualified as patent attorney and attorney at law in China, with his expertise primarily focusing on prosecuting and litigating complex patent disputes and on planning, advising and executing corporate strategies for the defence and the enforcement of patents in a wide variety of technical fields, particularly biochemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceutics and organic chemistry.

Jiang is vice president of the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) China and vice president of the All-China Patent Attorneys Association (ACPAA).

 

 

Paul Inman, Partner, Gowling WLG

With 20 years of experience of litigating intellectual property disputes within the UK and internationally, Paul Inman works with companies ranging from small startups to major multinational corporations. He specialises in the life sciences sector, which has included acting on high-profile pharmaceutical patent infringement and revocation actions in the UK Patents Court.

Inman’s first degree is in molecular biology and biochemistry, which means he can take on highly complex pharmaceutical or biotechnology inventions as easily as less technical (but equally important) mechanical patents and designs. As a global industry, life science businesses expect commercial advice from lawyers with an international outlook. Inman’s specialist experience and skillset make him perfectly placed to provide this expertise and client care.

Issi Rozen, Chief Business Officer, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Issi Rozen, chief business officer at the Broad Institute, is responsible for partnering with the life sciences industry and venture investors and developing innovative scientific and business collaborations. He is also responsible for initiating and establishing new ventures around novel research projects and for licensing the institute’s intellectual property portfolio.

Before joining the Broad Institute in 2011, Rozen headed corporate development at Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, a venture-backed biotech startup, where he led the business development and partnering efforts. Prior to that, he led the business analysis group at EMD Serono, where he was responsible for evaluating in-licensing and M&A opportunities as well as commercial analytics and forecasting.

He is a co-founder of a number of Boston-based biotech startups and is an accomplished jazz guitarist. He earned his MBA at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

Anita Varma, Intellectual Property Partner, White & Case

Anita Varma is an intellectual property partner based in White & Case’s Boston office, with a dual practice in London. She is qualified to practise before the US Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office.

Varma provides strategic patent counselling to life sciences industry companies, guiding them through every stage of the patent life cycle. She works with clients in obtaining enforceable claims and supporting them in post-grant proceedings, as well as in developing and executing offensive and defensive patent strategies.

She also conducts strategic review of patent portfolios to identify strengths and weaknesses, and opportunities to minimise threats and maximise revenue.

Barbara Fiacco, Second Vice President, American Intellectual Property Law Association and Partner, Foley Hoag

Barbara Fiacco is a partner at Foley Hoag. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School and handles complex intellectual property and business disputes. Her technology-related practice focuses on the life sciences, including recombinant DNA, therapeutic proteins and antibodies, small molecule compounds, drug delivery, molecular diagnostics, and medical devices. She has successfully litigated patent, trade secret, and inventorship disputes for global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, medical device manufacturers and research institutions.

Fiacco is the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s (AIPLA) second vice president and has served as chair of AIPLA’s committee on legislation. She is recognised as a leading IP lawyer in the Best Lawyers in America, IAM Patent 1000, Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars and Top 250 Women. 

Charles Larsen, Intellectual Property Partner, White & Case

Charles (Chuck) Larsen is an intellectual property partner based in White & Case’s Boston office, with a dual practice in London. He concentrates his practice on providing strategic patent advocacy and is licensed to practice before the US Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office (EPO), US district courts, and the UK High Court.

Larsen’s patent practice includes advising on multijurisdictional disputes, conducting patent validity, infringement and freedom-to-operate studies, and IP due diligence for patents held in the US and Europe. He advises clients in inter partes review, European oppositions, litigation strategies and other post-grant proceedings.

He has served as counsel of record in nine Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings and reexaminations and in numerous EPO oppositions. 

Jennifer Loebach, Director, Intellectual Property, Blueprint Medicines

Jennifer Loebach is the director of intellectual property at Blueprint Medicines in Cambridge, MA. She is responsible for all IP aspects of Blueprint’s business, including global protection of Blueprint’s products and technology, business development and external research activities.

Before joining Blueprint in January 2017, Loebach worked as patent counsel at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, MA. Prior to this, she was an associate at Mintz Levin in Boston, where she acted as outside IP counsel for pharmaceutical and biotech clients. She also worked for Merck Research Laboratories in New Jersey, starting as a research chemist and most recently as associate director external scientific affairs.

Loebach holds degrees from the University of Illinois (BS) in chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) in organic chemistry, and Suffolk University Law School (JD).