INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY FIRM ANALYSIS
Firm Briefings
like Halozyme Therapeutics and industrial biotech companies like Amyris. Co-chair of Fenwick’s life sciences team is standout attorney Michael Shuster, who one peer calls “a real hard worker – which isn’t fair because he is also brilliant!” He represents an impressive list of industry clients including Isis Pharmaceuticals, Abbott Laboratories, and the University of Southern California. In addition to Shuster, partner Robert Hulse is also viewed by peers as, “one of the sharper IP minds on the west coast.” He works exclusively in the medical device space and has worked with companies like PerceptiMed on their patent portfolios. Hulse works on behalf of client LELO in challenging Standard Innovations, a competing medical device manufacturer, for a freedom to operate action. “More knowledgeable than most of the attorneys I have worked with at other firms,” explains one client about the legal acumen at Fenwick. “We use them for our patent needs and their intelligence on the subject matter never ceases to amaze us.” Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner Their reputation as a full-service IP boutique holds true for Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner in the life sciences industry and their colleagues know it. “There really isn’t anything they can’t do for their clients in the IP space,” explains one rival. “The entire team at the firm supports one another, and their depth is unmatched by any other firm, boutique or general service.” Finnegan regularly handles work for industry heavyweights, including Galderma Laboratories, Eli Lilly, and AstraZeneca. “We absolutely love the work they have done for us and could not be happier,” raves one client about working with Finnegan. “Using them to develop and protect our IP helped us gain our current spot in the market, and if I chose a different firm to work with, I don’t think things would have worked out as well as they did.” Assisting clients during the pre-litigation stages of a product’s lifecycle has made partner Thomas Irving one of the industry’s most recognizable names. “Everyone on the IP side of the industry knows him and has a great respect for the work he has done,” states one contemporary. Currently, he is assisting AstraZeneca with due diligence work as well as prosecution matters regarding some of the company’s compound formulations that are in the clinical trial stage. Partner Charles Lipsey and Finnegan’s litigation team complement the work of the firm’s prosecution and strategy groups. Lipsey has been doing in-trial work for life sciences companies for over 30 years and over the past year has done work for Eli Lilly, representing one of its subsidiaries in a patent infringement action filed by the Alzheimer’s Institute of America over technology used in searching for drugs to treat Alzheimer’s Disease. Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto IP boutique Fitzpatrick Cella Harper & Scinto uses its litigation prowess to help create one of the industry’s strongest IP groups. Sanofi-Aventis, Genzyme, and Merck are just a few of the industry titans using Fitzpatrick’s expertise. “I would put them in a class similar to Finnegan, as they can really handle anything in the IP world and have a litigation team that is extremely well-re42
spected,” praises one competitor about the firm’s IP life sciences capabilities. Fitzpatrick’s biggest strength is their large number of battletested trial attorneys that they can staff on any given matter. The firm built a team of partners, including lead counsels Nicholas Cannella and Colleen Tracy, for Gilead Sciences in a recent HatchWaxman matter against Teva, who intended to sell generic copies of Gilead’s HIV medications, Viread, Truvada, and Atripla. The case settled earlier this year and Teva can launch generic versions of the drug on the market in 2017. Colleagues commend Tracy for her “outstanding trial work and experience within life sciences.” Partner Henry Renk has made a name for himself within the industry for his work with AstraZeneca and is considered by rivals as “a big name in litigation.” Along with partner Bruce Haas, Renk successfully represented AstraZeneca, defending a patent challenge by four generic drug manufacturers against their blockbuster antipsychotic drug SeroquelXR. Affirming Fitzpatrick’s standing in the industry are the outstanding reviews the firm receives from its clients. “Their attention to detail on our matters was immaculate and I have never felt so in tune with a law firm,” enthuses one client. Fish & Richardson “We can go to them with any IP request that we have,” remarks one client about the IP team at Fish & Richardson. “From beginning to end, we used the firm for our patent needs and could not have been happier with the outcome.” Fish & Richardson is part of a small group of law firms that can offer full-service IP work to its life sciences clients. One competitor agrees stating, “They have one of the best prosecution teams in the country, and they can back that up with tremendous litigation work, especially on the Hatch-Waxman front.” Mayo Collaborative Services and Allergen are among the firm’s most prestigious clients in the industry. Patent opinion and strategic counseling is a main component of partner Teresa Lavoie’s practice. A colleague considers Lavoie “a pleasure to deal with and extremely knowledgeable on technical subjects.” She recently helped Onyx Pharmaceuticals with patents concerning their drug Kyprolis, which is a later stage injection for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. Partners Juanita Brooks and Jonathan Singer lead Fish & Richardson’s prominent Hatch-Waxman practice for their branded pharmaceutical clients. Singer, seen by practitioners as “very skilled and efficient,” successfully represented Mayo in its case against Prometheus Laboratories, an action claiming pat ent infringement over metabolite assays for six-mercaptopurine drugs. Singer obtained a summary judgment of invalidity for Mayo and the case was appealed, brought before the Supreme Court, and upheld in a unanimous decision in favor of Mayo. Frost Brown Todd Cincinnati-based Frost Brown Todd is extremely active in a dense life sciences market in the Midwest. “They aren’t a big life sciences group, but we love the attention we received from them and the high-level of patent work their attorneys have done for us,” explains one of the firm’s clients. Frost Brown Todd has done patent
LMG LIFE SCIENCES 2013