Intellectual property (IP) rights are paramount to life science
companies. Whether your company is a startup or established
pharmaceutical or tool company, a mudslide in the relevant IP
landscape can be both a challenge to the existing operations and an
opportunity for new business. In particular, expiration or
invalidation of drug patents or PCR patents can create complexity for
both the patent holders and new entrants.
At this BioE2E event, a panel of industry veterans will share their
first-hand experiences and war stories about capitalizing on a
changing and dynamic IP landscape. They will illustrate the pitfalls
and highlight the strategies for successes in exploiting IP boundaries
and loopholes.
Networking and light dinner from 6:30pm, plus networking session will follow.
Panelists:
Michael Hunkapiller is currently a partner at Alloy Ventures. Prior to joining Alloy, Michael spent 21 years at Applied Biosystems (NYSE: ABI). He helped grow ABI from startup to almost $2 billion in annual revenues supplying instrument and reagent systems for life science research. At ABI, he held several positions, most recently as President and General Manager. He was also a founder of ABI's sister company Celera Genomics (NYSE: CRA) and Senior Vice President of Applera Corporation (their parent company). Prior to joining ABI, Mike was a senior research fellow in the Division of Biology at the California Institute of Technology. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1970 and a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech in 1974. He is an author of more than 100 scientific publications, an inventor on more than two dozen patents, and has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals. He has received several awards for his contributions to life science research, including the development of the automated DNA sequencing systems used to sequence the human genome.
Vern Norviel is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati where he leads the Patents and Innovation Counseling practice. He specializes in strategic counseling for life sciences companies. Before joining the firm in 2003, Vern was the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Perlegen Sciences, Inc., a startup biotechnology company scanning the entire human genome for important therapeutic and diagnostic products. He was previously an early employee, Senior Vice President, and General Counsel of Affymetrix, the biotechnology company that pioneered and developed DNA chip technology. During his career, Vern has authored/prosecuted 16 patents that have been litigated in the U.S. and elsewhere and overseen intellectual property lawsuits throughout the world. He was previously a partner of Townsend and Townsend and Crew in Palo Alto.
Al Halluin is among the nation's most prominent biotechnology patent lawyers and strategists. Mr. Halluin is one of the only ten people in the IP Law and Business Patent Prosecution Hall of Fame. Mr. Halluin was also credited in Scientific American as the first individual to recognize the patent potential for the Nobel prize-winning polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process, now in use worldwide. He is an inventor and has been issued nine patents. In addition, Mr. Halluin is also a private pilot.
Concentrating on cutting-edge biotechnology, Mr. Halluin focuses his practice on matters involving technologies such as genomics technology, DNA chips, recombinant DNA, transgenic technology, plant technology (including functional genomic plant technology), protein chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, amplification technology, immunology, and polymer technology. In addition, his practice includes patent preparation and prosecution, opinion work, freedom-to-operate and due diligence inquiries, and infringement opinions in all areas of biotechnology and chemistry.
Prior to joining the firm, from 1983 to 1990, Mr. Halluin was the Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Cetus Corporation. From 1976 to 1983, he served as counsel at Exxon Research and Engineering Company. He also worked for four years as a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Dr. Karen Wong is a life science IP attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Dr. Wong works with private and public companies in creating and implementing strategies to capitalize on their new technologies. Her practice areas include patent prosecution, portfolio planning, technology transfer, or licensing.
Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Dr. Wong was an associate at Howrey Simon Arnold & White, LLP, where she engaged in both patent prosecution and litigation. Her experience in both practice areas has allowed her to effectively assist clients in establishing and enforcing valuable intellectual property rights. Dr. Wong focuses her practice on matters involving technologies such as therapeutic delivery, clinical diagnostics, immunotherapies, bioinformatics, gene therapy, and cancer biology. She has special technical expertise in antibody engineering and production, drug screening and delivery, cell signaling and differentiation. Prior to practicing law, Dr. Wong conducted doctoral and post-doctoral research at Harvard and Tufts Medical School in a multidisciplinary area combining molecular biology, cell biology, and physiology.
Michael Hunkapiller, Ph.D., Partner, Alloy Ventures
Vern Norviel, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Al Halluin, Senior Counsel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Karen Wong, Ph.D., J.D., Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
