Pharmaceutical
Breakthrough discoveries and innovations require strong protection
Millions of people rely on the pharmaceutical industry for life-saving drugs and treatments that improve the quality of life. Even with billions of dollars invested in research and development, few drugs actually make it through the clinical trials and stringent regulatory clearances necessary to get to market. When they do, it is crucial for companies to protect the intellectual property underlying new drugs and treatments. The revenues from these products support the cycle of research and development for new generations of drugs and treatments. Finnegan has a long history of working with innovative pharmaceutical companies to protect and maximize their valuable IP rights and assets.
Legal strength, experience, and insight
As scientific discoveries advance in areas such as genetics, neuroscience, immunology, and stem cells, pharmaceutical companies are developing drugs and procedures that more effectively target and treat diseases. Many are partnering with biotechnology and diagnostic firms to develop groundbreaking methods of identifying, preventing, and treating disease. Finnegan’s lawyers understand the complex technological and legal implications presented by these arrangements and how they affect the parties’ strategic goals. The fast pace of new discoveries and their commercial applications requires a law firm that has a comprehensive grasp of the IP legal issues and the experience and industry expertise to understand the science and strategic implications of the advancements. Our pharmaceutical practice includes more than 80 attorneys and professionals dedicated to serving the IP needs of pharmaceutical companies. More than half of our attorneys in our pharmaceutical practice hold doctorate degrees in relevant sciences such as molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, and pharmacology. More than one-third of the group's members joined Finnegan after holding positions in industry or at universities or served as examiners with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
We have addressed virtually every type of IP issue for our pharmaceutical clients. Our experience includes:
- Representing clients in complex Hatch-Waxman litigation.
- Developing and executing prosecution strategies—to both protect a client’s products and analyze those of its competitors—to help ensure that the client realizes value from its IP assets.
- Preparing and negotiating licenses, assessing the licensing value of competitors’ patents, and guiding our clients in decisions to license.
- Providing due diligence for merger and acquisition and partnership targets.
- Providing counsel on business-related matters, including antitrust and competition issues.
- Determining priority in complex interferences.
- Providing trademark prosecution and counseling services.
- Advising on potential litigation strategies, and asserting and defending patents in court.
Multinational companies need a firm with a global focus
Our clients’ business and IP assets are global, and protection of these assets is increasingly challenging. Strong growth in the European Union will continue to boost European sales. And changes in Asia are affecting the industry—continued double-digit market growth in China will make it one of the largest drug market in sales.
With offices around the world and experience with multinational companies, Finnegan has the resources and expertise to formulate and execute global strategies for pharmaceutical companies. With an expanding presence in Asia, a well-established base in Europe, and offices across the United States, we work with our clients in real time and regularly appear on their behalf in the International Trade Commission, courts throughout the United States, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Far-reaching experience
Our experience in the pharmaceutical industry is broad. We work with clients on the cutting edge of scientific advancement:
- AIDS antibody test kits
- Antibiotics isolated from natural products
- Antibody therapy
- Anticancer drugs
- Atypical antipsychotic drugs
- Gene therapy
- Genetic engineering
- Nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA) kits
- Recombinant growth factors
- Recombinant human insulin
- Sustained release formulations
- Vaccines
Leading pharmaceutical companies count on Finnegan
We work with innovative pharmaceutical clients of all sizes, including Fortune 100, Global 1000, start-ups, and public and private companies:
- Akros Pharma, Inc.
- AstraZeneca
- Cubist Pharmaceuticals
- Elan Corporation, PLC
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals
- Forest Laboratories
- Geron Corporation
- Otsuka Pharmaceuticals
- Solvay Pharmaceuticals
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals