Lisa Warren Examines the Value of In-Person Interviews for Expediting Patent Allowance in Mass. Lawyers Weekly Article 08/15/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Intellectual Property, Life Sciences.Tags: Lisa Warren, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, patent, patent allowance, patent application
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In her Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article “Expediting Patent Allowance with In-Person Interviews,” patent attorney Lisa Warren explains why it may be beneficial to take advantage of in-person interviews with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in order to expedite the allowance of a patent. Although options such as telephone or video conference interviews may be available and more convenient, Lisa notes:
sometimes there is simply no substitute for direct interpersonal interaction with an examiner to build rapport and improve the mutual understanding of the issues.”
Additionally, Lisa addresses relevant considerations when deciding if in-person interviews are preferable during the patent application process, as well as requirements for the interview itself. These and other insights from Lisa can be found in the full article.
Lisa McKerracher of BioAxone BioSciences Joins Advisory Panel for Christopher Reeve Foundation 08/10/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: BioAxone BioSciences, Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Lisa McKerracher, spinal cord injury
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Lisa McKerracher, CEO of MBBP client BioAxone BioSciences, has accepted the role of Consortium Advisory Panelist for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Dr. McKerracher will “direct the foundation’s focus toward the identification, development, and translation of potential Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) therapies into the clinic.”
BioAxone BioSciences is a clinical-state biopharmaceutical company developing regenerative therapeutic drugs based on a deep understanding of axon regeneration and neuronal signaling pathways. The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to advancing quality of life and discovering cures for spinal cord injury.
More information can be found in the full release.
David Sabatini To Be Awarded 2017 Dickson Prize in Medicine 08/10/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: David Sabatini, Dickson Prize in Medicine, Life Sciences, Whitehead Institute
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Biologist David Sabatini of MBBP client Whitehead Institute will receive the University of Pittsburgh’s 2017 Dickson Prize in Medicine. The Dickson Prize in Medicine is awarded annually to a leading American investigator who is engaged in innovative, paradigm-shifting biomedical research.
Sabatini discovered mTOR, a key cellular regulatory metabolic pathway. In addition to being a member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, he teaches biology at MIT and is a senior associate at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University. He is also a member of the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
The award will be presented to Sabatini in October at the University of Pittsburgh’s Science 2017 event. More information can be found on the University’s Dickson Prize in Medicine page.
Bach Pharma’s GVT Drug Reverses Brain Dysfunction, Report Shows 08/09/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: Bach Pharma, brain dysfunction, Department of Defense, Gulf War Illness, GVT drug
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Firm client Bach Pharma’s GVT drug successfully reverses brain dysfunction and therefore may be an effective treatment for victims of Gulf War Illness (GWI), according to a Department of Defense report on the results of a multi-year pre-clinical study conducted by Ashok K. Shetty, PhD, Associate Director and Professor at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University System. GWI is prevalent among servicemen and women from the Gulf War and can cause memory impairment, depression, and anxiety. The study was conducted under a grant from the DoD.
GVT has proven both neuro-protective and neuro-generative and could potentially act as a therapeutic treatment for chemical poisoning associated disorders. The fact that GVT regenerates stem cells and neurons was an unexpected finding of this study. Based on these results, Dr. Shetty has established a collaboration with Dena Davidson, PhD, deputy director of research at the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans to pursue clinical trials in GWI patients.
Congratulations to our client, Bach Pharma, on this extraordinary achievement. Read the full press release for more information.
NIH/SBIR Grant Awarded to Firm Client BioAxone BioSciences for BA-1049 Inhibitor Research 08/03/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: BioAxone BioSciences, biopharmaceutical, national institutes of health
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have awarded firm client BioAxone BioSciences, Inc. with a $1.5 million grant. The grant is for continued research for BioAxone’s Rho Kinase 2 (ROCK2) inhibitor, BA-1049, a transformative drug to treat cerebral cavernous malformation, a serious genetic disease.
BioAxone is a clinical-state biopharmaceutical company developing regenerative therapeutic drugs based on a deep understanding of axon regeneration and neuronal signaling pathways.
Congratulations to our client on receiving the grant and on their revolutionary drug research. For more information, read the full release.
BioAxone BioSciences Peer-Reviewed Research Article Published in Frontiers Journal Series 07/20/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: axon regeneration, BioAxone BioSciences, Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
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Firm client BioAxone BioSciences announced that its peer-reviewed research article on axon regeneration was published in Frontiers Journal Series, Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. The article “MAG, Myelin and Overcoming Growth Inhibition in the CNS” was written by BioAxone’s CEO Lisa McKerracher, Ph.D. and Kenneth Rosen, Ph.D., VP of Research. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research that aims to identify key molecules underlying the structure, design, and function of the brain across all levels.
BioAxone is a clinical-state biopharmaceutical company developing regenerative therapeutic drugs based on a deep understanding of axon regeneration and neuronal signaling pathways.
Congratulations to our client on this achievement. For more information, read the press release.
ConforMIS Receives FDA Clearance for iTotal Hip Replacement System 06/27/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences, Medical Devices.Tags: ConforMIS, hip replacement
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Firm client ConforMIS, Inc. received FDA 510(k) clearance for its primary iTotal Hip replacement system. Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Augusti remarked:
Having treated over 50,000 patients with customized knee replacement implants, ConforMIS brings over a decade of experience in patient-specific technology to the hip replacement market. FDA clearance of iTotal Hip demonstrates the ability to apply our proprietary iFit® image-to-implant technology to other joints. There has been a trend towards personalized healthcare and we believe patients expect and deserve personalized treatment.”
The iTotal Hip replacement system has technology that is similar to that used in ConforMIS’s customized knee implants. The company hopes to improve patient outcomes through customized implants for joint replacements.
Congratulations to our client on this achievement. For more information, read the full announcement.
iSpecimen Unveils Online Biospecimen Marketplace 06/13/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: biospecimen, iSpecimen, Life Sciences
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Firm client iSpecimen has launched an online biospecimen marketplace for the life sciences industry. The company hopes that the marketplace will alleviate scientists’ difficulty in finding high-quality samples of human material necessary to conduct research.
The marketplace compiles available samples and allows users to search by patient information. Users can then order the corresponding materials.
For more information about the iSpecimen Marketplace, read the full article in the BBJ, or iSpecimen’s press release.
Encore Event! Strategic Alliances: Pot of Gold or Pretty Poison? – Life Sciences Series, June 28 06/05/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Corporate, Events, Life Sciences, MBBP news.Tags: biotech, John Hession, licensing, pharma, strategic alliances
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Due to overwhelming demand for our April 28 “Strategic Alliances: Pot of Gold or Pretty Poison?” event, we will be holding another round on Wednesday, June 28 at the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC). Moderated by corporate attorney John Hession, a panel of business development experts will explore various research and collaboration structures, from options to license to comprehensive collaboration partnerships. The panel will discuss various licensing vehicles, the importance of concise fields of use descriptions, sample economics, and conventional transaction structures.
Space is limited! View our event page for more information and to register for the event.
Shann Kerner Joins MBBP as Intellectual Property Partner 05/03/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Intellectual Property, Life Sciences, MBBP news.Tags: intellectual property attorney, intellectual property law, patent law, Shann Kerner
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We are pleased to announce the addition of Intellectual Property Member Shann Kerner.
Shann has substantial experience advising emerging, mid-sized and public companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device fields, counseling them on the creation, leveraging and protection of IP, with a view towards strengthening the business strategy of her clients.
A versatile and seasoned member of the Intellectual Property department, Shann concentrates her practice on IP counseling, particularly on patent portfolio procurement and management and IP due diligence in connection with venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and internal audits. Shann also focuses on analyses regarding patentability, freedom-to-operate, inventorship, derivation, validity and competitive subject matter landscape.
We invite you to contact Shann directly.
Applied BioMath and Northern Biologics to Collaborate on Biotherapeutic Candidate in Oncology 04/21/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: Applied BioMath, drug research, Northern Biologics
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Firm client Applied BioMath, the industry-leader in applying mechanistic modeling to drug research and development, announced a collaboration with Northern Biologics, an innovative antibody discovery and development company. The companies will focus on traditional and mechanistic pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) modeling for a biotherapeutic candidate in oncology. Applied BioMath will leverage both traditional PK/PD models and semi-mechanistic PK/PD models, while Northern Biologics will use this model to strengthen their understanding of the parameters that will determine optimal dosing paradigms.
Congratulations to our client on this new collaboration. For more information, read the full press release.
MBBP’s Life Sciences Vector Newsletter, Spring 2017 04/20/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Corporate, Intellectual Property, Life Sciences, MBBP news, New Resources.Tags: Life Sciences, Life Sciences Newsletter
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Our Life Sciences team has published the Spring 2017 edition of its newsletter, Vector. Below you will find brief descriptions of the news and articles included in the publication. Read the full newsletter for more information.
DAVID CZARNECKI AND STANLEY CHALVIRE ELEVATED WITHIN THE FIRM
We are pleased to announce that David Czarnecki and Stanley Chalvire have been elevated to Member. Dave is exceptionally proficient in guiding both buyers and sellers through a wide range of corporate transactions. Stan is a Registered Patent Attorney, specializing in the licensing of intellectual property and related counseling.
AMANDA PHILLIPS NAMED 2017 UP & COMING LAWYER
Litigation associate Amanda Phillips has been named a 2017 Up & Coming Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The recognition is awarded to a select number of attorneys who have been practicing for fewer than 10 years but whose professional achievements are noteworthy and whose service to the community is also significant.
CORPORATE ATTORNEY MICHAEL JABBAWY JOINS FIRM AS PARTNER
Michael’s practice is focused primarily in the areas of emerging and growth technology companies, venture capital, M&A transactions, and corporate governance. As a member of the Corporate Department, Michael advises technology and other emerging companies through each stage of growth. Prior to joining MBBP, Michael was a member of the Technology Companies group at Goodwin Procter LLP.
RECENT LIFE SCIENCES TRANSACTIONS
MBBP represented several clients in life sciences transactions, including iSpecimen, Orionis Biosciences, First Light Biosciences, and Manus Biosynthesis. The transactions ranged from convertible debt to equity investments. Learn more on page 2.
FREEDOM TO OPERATE: PREVENTION IS THE BEST MEDICINE
Launching a new product or service can be fraught with uncertainty and involve large expenditures of limited resources. An FTO opinion can reduce uncertainty and provide some insurance against loss from an unfavorable finding of infringement of another’s patent. An FTO opinion makes a determination whether a product or service infringes issued patents. In other words, the opinion indicates whether or not there is “freedom to operate” the product or service within the patent landscape. Often, FTO opinions also identify patent applications that, if later issued as patents, may be problematic. Read the full article on page 2.
THE PATENT PROCESS: GET ON THE FAST TRACK
One of the biggest frustrations for patent applicants is the incredibly slow pace at which an application proceeds from filing to receipt of a substantive examination report to allowance. On average it takes 15.7 months for a patent application to receive even a first substantive examination report, though there is significant variability across technology areas. The Patent Office has recognized this problem and implemented several initiatives which attempt to address the problem from different angles. Two programs in particular have gained traction: the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and Track One Prioritized Examination. Continue reading for more information about these programs.
OWNERSHIP OF ARISING INVENTIONS IN JOINT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS
Collaboration remains a valuable means of fostering innovation and advancing scientific, clinical and commercial objectives. Towards that end, two or more parties contemplating a collaboration often consider entering into a Joint Development Agreement, where they define, among other things, their respective contributions and responsibilities towards their common objectives. These types of collaborations require a careful and thorough consideration of the disposition of intellectual property rights that may arise as a result of each party’s performance of its responsibilities under such collaborations. Read more starting on page 3.
GUEST COLUMN:
FOR SKILLED IMMIGRATION TO THE U.S., THE TIMES, THEY MAY BE CHANGING
The last year of the Obama Administration saw an increased activism by President Obama in the area of skilled immigration. Through Executive Orders and regulations, the President made a number of important changes including providing Employment Authorization for spouses on H-4 visas, increasing the period of post-graduate employment authorization for foreign students in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), increasing the number of academic fields included in STEM and formalizing a grace period for foreign nationals on H-1B visas that find themselves between jobs. Read the full article beginning on page 5.
Strategic Alliances: Pot of Gold or Pretty Poison? – Life Sciences Series Panel 4 Event, April 28 04/11/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Corporate, Events, Licensing & Strategic Alliances, Life Sciences, MBBP news.Tags: biotech, John Hession, licensing, Life Sciences, pharma, strategic alliances
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Our Life Sciences Series Panel 4 event, Strategic Alliances: Pot of Gold or Pretty Poison?, will be held on Friday, April 28 from 7:30-10am in our Waltham office. Moderated by corporate attorney John Hession, a panel of business development experts from Big Pharma and Small Biotech explore various research and collaboration structures, from options to license to comprehensive collaboration partnerships. We will discuss various licensing vehicles, the importance of concise fields of use descriptions, sample economics, and conventional transaction structures.
View our event page for more information and to register for the event.
Early-Stage Life Science Financing: Event Recap 04/05/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Corporate, Life Sciences, MBBP news.Tags: event, financing, John Hession, Life Sciences
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By: Erin Bryan
On Thursday, March 30th, MBBP kicked off an Innovations in Life Sciences event at the Cambridge Innovation Center by hosting a panel entitled “Money and Molecules: Early-Stage Life Science Financing“. The panel included Jeffrey Arnold, President & CEO of Arnold Strategies, LLC; Timothy Sullivan, Partner at Aju IB Investment; John Tagliamonte who serves on the Advisory Board of Cocoon Biotech; Caleb Winder, Managing Director of Excel Venture Management; and MBBP’s own John Hession as moderator.
The panel provided a discussion on financing strategies for young life science companies, ranging from how to get in the door with investors to what will make your company attractive for financing. It may be surprising to many, but the entire panel echoed the fact that the financing process will take longer than is generally expected. If available, it is recommended to seek grant and other non-dilutive funding in addition to any equity financing.
The panelists identified a number of factors that they consider when a company is seeking financing, including how well the company has examined the market, identified a regulatory and a reimbursement path, understood the economics of the customer, and filed for patent protection. Additional considerations include how well the company will fit with the portfolio strategy of the investor, and how complete the management team is. Many investors will also be looking to see where in the pipeline the company’s research currently is. In general, investors want to see that the company has at least reached the molecule stage and has some small animal data supporting its research, although exceptions may always be made depending on the strength of the management team, the marketing opportunity, and the science.
These were merely a few of the interesting points discussed by the panel. Save the date for our next life sciences panel “Strategic Alliances: Pot of Gold or Pretty Poison?” (the 4th in the Life Sciences Series), which will be hosted at MBBP’s Waltham office on Friday, April 28. The panel will discuss strategic alliances between big pharma and small biotech.
Early-Stage Life Science Financing Event – March 30 03/09/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Corporate, Events, Life Sciences, MBBP news.Tags: early-stage companies, event, financing, life science, Life Sciences, panel, startup, startups
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Don’t miss our next event, Money and Molecules: Early-Stage Life Science Financing, on Thursday, March 30 from 3:30-5pm at the Cambridge Innovation Center. Moderated by corporate attorney John Hession, a panel of experts will discuss the current complex financing environment for early-stage life science companies. Among other topics, the panel discussion will include:
- Formulate a comprehensive and coherent financing strategy
- Construct a financing strategy that fits the company’s timetable and milestones
- Understand and handle the disadvantages of taking money from different investor types
- Understand and leverage the advantages of different classes of investors
- Optimize their chances for success
View our event page for more information and to register for the event.
Pick Up the (Patent Process) Pace! 03/07/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Intellectual Property, Life Sciences.Tags: application, patent, prosecution, USPTO
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A common frustration for patent applicants is the incredibly slow pace at which an application proceeds from filing to receipt of a substantive examination report to allowance. On average it takes 15.7 months for a patent application to receive even a first substantive examination report! The Patent Office has recognized this problem and implemented several initiatives which attempt to address the problem from different angles. Lisa Warren, MBBP Managing Partner and Patent Attorney, discusses the Patent Prosecution Highway and the Track One program in her new article.
Interested in moving your patent application into the fast lane? Contact Lisa directly.
Dr. Kaushik Chowdhury Named as a Recipient of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers 01/31/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Attorney News, Life Sciences.Tags: engineers, GENESYS Lab, National Science Foundation I-Corps, Northeastern University, PECASE, president obama, science, US government
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Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, PC congratulates Dr. Kaushik Chowdhury, Director of Northeastern University’s Next Generation Networks and Systems (GENESYS) Lab, on recently being named as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) – the highest honor given by the US government to science and engineering professionals.
This summer, MBBP Partner Mike Cavaretta served as Business Mentor to Dr. Chowdhury’s team as part of the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps™ program, which offers select participants from US academic laboratories the opportunity to participate in a special, accelerated version of Stanford University’s Lean LaunchPad course. As part of this intensive program, Mike worked closely with Dr. Chowdhury and his I-Corps™ team to help move ground-breaking Radio Frequency (RF) Energy Harvesting technology developed at Dr. Chowdhury’s GENESYS Lab out of the lab and into the market.
Congratulations to Dr. Chowdhury!
MBBP client, Whitehead Institute, featured in New York Times article discussing Genomic research 01/12/2017
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences.Tags: biomedical research, client, DNA, genome, Life Sciences, new york times, scientific research, TADs, Whitehead Institute, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
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The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, a client of MBBP, is featured in a New York Times article about progressive research on topologically associating domains (TADs) in DNA.
As the article explains, TADs are a newly discovered design feature of the genome that partition different groups of genes into neighborhoods. If these partitions are broken, various diseases may occur.
By conducting research on TADs, scientists hope to gain a more in depth understanding of how gene expression is controlled. Dr. Richard Young of the Whitehead Institute and his team are involved in TADs research and are continuing to push the boundaries of knowledge about genetic neighborhoods.
For more information, read the full article.
MBBP’s Client Abpro Collaborating with MedImmune on Medical Advancement 12/01/2016
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Corporate, Life Sciences, Medical Devices.Tags: Abpro, antibodies, antibody, AstraZeneca, biochemistry, collaboration, DiversImmune, Ian Chan, industrial, Life Sciences, MedImmune, technology
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MBBP’s client Abpro, a pioneer in the field of industrial biochemistry, has recently entered into a Collaboration Agreement with MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca. The collaboration will advance the development of a preclinical, novel bispecific antibody targeting angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor (Ang2-VEGF). Abpro will contribute its strong scientific, technical and clinical expertise to this partnership, along with its core technology platform, DiversImmuneTM, which will be utilized to further develop the bispecific antibody. Ian Chan, CEO and co-founder of Abpro, has expressed the Company’s enthusiasm towards collaborating with MedImmune, as the two businesses work together to advance these innovative therapeutics into the clinic.
For more information, read the full article.
MBBP Client Harvard Making Breakthroughs in Blood Stem Cell Research 11/21/2016
Posted by Morse Barnes-Brown Pendleton in Client News, Life Sciences, Medical Devices.Tags: boston children's hospital, david scadden, Harvard, harvard university, magenta therapeutics, massachusetts general hospital, medical field, medical technology, medicine, mgh, regenerative biology, stem cell, stem cell research, technology
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Harvard University has recently completed a license agreement with Magenta Therapeutics, a newly launched start-up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in order to continue research and development related to new approaches to blood stem cell transplantation. The deal will help transform this science from that of a “last resort” into safer, more effective therapy for patients who suffer from blood diseases, cancers, and immune disorders. The license agreement has given Magenta the opportunity to utilize a platform of technologies developed at Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Boston Children’s Hospital.
This revolutio
nary technology has been most recently advanced in the laboratory of David Scadden, the Gerald and Darlene Jordan Professor of Medicine and professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard, and director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at MGH. Scadden’s lab has made advances in how donor cells are selected, harvested, and prepared for transplant, improving projected outcomes for patients. For more information, read the Harvard Gazette and Boston Business Journal articles.
