Antibody Patenting: Meeting Written Description and Obviousness Requirements, U.S. and European Perspectives

Mr. Jacobstein focuses on strategic client counseling, including due diligence, patent prosecution, and post-grant proceedings, with an emphasis on biotechnology and the life sciences. His experience includes prosecuting and appealing applications within the USPTO, as well as post-grant proceedings and larger portfolio management, licensing, and opinion work. He has conducted numerous evaluations for diligence, clearance, and freedom-to-operate assessments, and has extensive experience providing patentability, validity, enforceability, and infringement opinions.

Ms. Murphy focuses on developing patent filing and prosecution strategies tailored to clients’ worldwide business goals. She works with a wide range of clients, including small biotech startup companies, research foundations, and large publicly traded biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Ms. Murphy prepares new patent applications, prosecutes U.S. and foreign applications, and represents appellants in ex parte appeals before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). She has also led clients through numerous reissue applications, inter partes and ex parte reexamination applications, and supplemental examination proceedings. Ms. Murphy’s extensive client counseling practice includes providing patentability, freedom-to-operate, infringement, and validity opinions. In addition, she represents petitioners and patent owners in inter partes review (IPR) and post grant review (PGR) proceedings before the PTAB. She has substantial experience in a wide variety of life sciences technologies, including antibodies and antibody drug conjugates; antiretrovirals and anticancer agents; biologics; blood clotting factors; cell signaling and signal transduction; diagnostic markers and detection assays; drug formulations; gene delivery systems, including AAV; gene editing technologies, including CRISPR; immunooncology; lipid nanoparticles; microbiome analysis and probiotics; nucleic acid modifications; peptide synthesis and protein purification; single-cell and single-molecule analysis; small molecule drugs; and vaccines.

Dr. Randall is a chartered UK patent attorney, a European patent attorney, and a Unified Patent Court (UPC) representative. With a background in biomedical sciences, she works with a diverse portfolio of clients, including global pharmaceuticals and startup biotechnology companies. Dr. Randall is the recipient of the “IP Rising Star” Award 2023 from Women in Business Law EMEA. She has acquired extensive experience in a broad range of life sciences subject matter. Dr. Randall's areas of interest include personal medicine, immunology, autoimmune diseases, oncology, antibody technologies, antisense therapeutics, blood products, vaccines, gene manipulation, and stem cell culture methods. She has extensive experience with oppositions and appeals, representing both patentee and opponent at Oral Proceedings before the European Patent Office (EPO). Dr. Randall has managed large, complex portfolios protecting high-value pharmaceuticals. She has experience prosecuting supplementary protection certificates. Dr. Randall has also been involved in litigation proceedings before the UK High Court.