Yoonjin Lee, Ph.D.

Partner

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Yoonjin Lee, Ph.D.

Partner

+1 202 408 4332 +1 202 408 4332
yoonjin.lee@finnegan.com yoonjin.lee@finnegan.com

901 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001-4413

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Yoonjin Lee, Ph.D., focuses on pre-litigation due diligence and contentious proceedings before federal district courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the biotechnology, biologics, and pharmaceutical fields. She is involved at various stages of litigation, including claim construction, fact discovery, expert discovery, and pre-trial and post-trial briefing. Yoonjin received her doctorate in chemistry and chemical biology from Harvard University.

Yoonjin has a wide range of technical experience, including the areas of inorganic chemistry, chemical biology, drug discovery, molecular and cellular biology, gene therapy, antibody development and therapies, diagnostic markers, and therapies for metabolic diseases. Prior to joining Finnegan, Yoonjin worked as a post-doctoral researcher at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, investigating glucose and other macronutrients metabolism.

Yoonjin's graduate research focused on designing a high throughput chemical screen, discovering potential drug targets for type II diabetes, and understanding the molecular mechanism of glucose homeostasis. Before her graduate studies, Yoonjin was an undergraduate researcher at Ewha Womans University, where she studied enzymatic properties of oxoiron (IV) non-heme models utilizing analytical and characterization tools. She was also a teaching fellow in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, where she instructed undergraduate students in organic chemistry.

Et Cetera

Scholarship for the 21st Century Leader from Ewha Womans University, 2004-2012.
Teaching Certificate of Distinction, 2008, 2009.
Korean Chemistry Olympiad, Silver Medal, 2003.
Coauthor. "Cyclin D1-CDK4 Controls Glucose Metabolism Independently of Cell Cycle Progression," Nature, June 2014.
Coauthor. "The Sirtuin Family's Role in Aging and Age-Associated Pathologies," Journal of Clinical Investigation, March 2013.
Coauthor. "The Deacetylase Sirt6 Activates the Acetyltransferase GCN5 and Suppresses Hepatic Gluconeogenesis," Molecular Cell, Dec. 2012.
Coauthor. "Oxygen-Atom Transfer Between Mononuclear Nonheme Iron(IV)-Oxo and Iron(II) Complexes," Angewandte Chemie International Edition, June 2006.

Experience

Representing Eli Lilly in litigation involving antibody therapies.

1:18-cv-12029, D. Mass., Judge Burroughs

Member of a team representing Eli Lilly in multiple inter partes review proceedings involving antibody therapies.

IPR2018-01422; -01423; -01424; -01425; -01426; -01427; -01710, -01711, -01712, PTAB

Member of a team that represented Eli Lilly in multiple Federal Circuit appeals.

2020-1747, -1748, -1749, -1750, -1751, -1752, -1876, -1877, -1878, Fed. Cir.

Member of a team that represented patent owner in inter partes review (IPR) challenge related to Imbruvica® (ibrutinib) for the treatment of chronic graft versus host disease.

IPR2019-00865, PTAB, Judges Cotta, Snedden, Mitchell

AbbVie Inc., et al. v. Aurobindo Pharma U.S.A., Inc. et al.

Finnegan is representing AbbVie, Allergan, and Merck in ongoing ANDA litigation involving Ubrelvy®, indicated for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

3:24-cv-04603, D.N.J., Judges Quraishi, Day
3:24-cv-04662, D.N.J., Judges Quraishi, Day
3:24-cv-04852, D.N.J., Judges Quraishi, Day

Represented Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. and its licensor The University of Western Australia in patent litigation relating to nucleic acid therapies for treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). A federal jury in the District of Delaware awarded Sarepta Therapeutics over $115 million in its patent infringement case against Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd. This substantial verdict upholds the validity of Sarepta's groundbreaking exon-skipping treatment, and the underlying work at the University of Western Australia.

1:21-cv-01015, D. Del., Judges Hall, Williams

Insights

Virtual Seminar

Drafting Patent Applications Drafting Patent Applications

March 9, 2022

Virtual

News

Press Release

Finnegan Announces Six New Partners to Strengthen Global IP Leadership Finnegan Announces Six New Partners to Strengthen Global IP Leadership

January 5, 2026

Commentary

Behind the Case: How Latham & Finnegan Secured $115m Biotech Win Behind the Case: How Latham & Finnegan Secured $115m Biotech Win

January 9, 2025

Managing Intellectual Property

Commentary

Litigators of the Week: Defending Against a $290M Claim and Scoring a $116M Win in Drug Patent Fight Litigators of the Week: Defending Against a $290M Claim and Scoring a $116M Win in Drug Patent Fight

January 9, 2025

The AmLaw Litigation Daily

Admissions and Education

Admissions

District of Columbia

Education

Georgetown University Law Center: J.D., 2020

Harvard University: Ph.D., Chemistry and Chemical Biology, 2014

Ewha Womans University: B.S., Chemistry, summa cum laude, 2007

Languages

Korean

Yoonjin's Practices

Global IP Enforcement, Litigation, and Trials: Patent Litigation and Trials; Pretrial Strategies
Patent Office Invalidation Proceedings: PTAB Invalidation Proceedings: IPR and PGR
Prosecution and Portfolio Management: Due Diligence; Opinions and Counseling

Yoonjin's Industries

Life Sciences: Biologics; Biotechnology; Pharmaceutical