Knobbe Martens has once again been recognized by Legal Media Group (LMG) Life Sciences. In the 2017 LMG Life Sciences rankings, the firm ranked as “highly recommended” in the categories of Patent Prosecution, Patent Strategy & Management and Hatch-Waxman Patent Litigation (Generic). The firm was also recognized for its General Patent Litigation practice.
Eleven of the firm’s partners were named “Life Sciences Stars” in LMG’s annual rankings, including: Dan Altman, Christy Lea, Sabing Lee, Joseph Mallon, Ph.D., Salima Merani, Ph.D., Kimberly Miller, Ph.D., Joseph Re, Joseph Reisman, Ph.D., John Sganga, Gerard von Hoffmann, and William Zimmerman.
The firm was noted in the publication as having “very strong attorneys”, with Gerard von Hoffmann leading the firm’s medical device practice. Over the past year, Mr. von Hoffmann led the IP diligence in 16 equity financings cumulatively valued at $356 Million, two acquisitions valued at $680 Million, and an IPO with a current market cap in excess of $900 Million. A client described the firm’s group of trial lawyers as “engaged, informed, coordinated, organized, passionate, and talented”. Christy Lea and John Sganga were commended for leading a trial team that convinced a federal jury in Boston to award client, Edwards Lifesciences CardiAQ $70 million for trade secret misappropriation against its former service provider, Neovasc. In September 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the judgment, which had grown to a $112 million win after the district court added an additional $21 million in enhanced damages plus interest for CardiAQ. The client specifically pointed out that Mr. Sganga has “outstanding strategic insights, preparation, team organization, and skills in the courtroom.” The publication recognized Mr. Sganga as a “Litigation Star”.
On the prosecution side, Dr. Salima Merani was praised for helping her clients build patent portfolios for transactional deals valued at over 1 billion dollars in just the last three years as well as her role as lead IP counsel in successfully representing clients in contentious Patent Office proceedings. Dr. Joseph Mallon was acknowledged for his extensive experience in prosecution and counseling for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Furthermore, Dr. Joseph Reisman was recognized for prosecution and counseling for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. He was quoted by a client as being “personable, clear, and easy to consult”.
In the Hatch-Waxman space, peers and clients have said that William Zimmerman is “one of the very excellent lawyers on the generic side” and that he is “an exceptionally decent and professional trial attorney with excellent judgment and talent in court”. Mr. Zimmerman and his team achieved a favorable settlement for client Lupin Pharmaceuticals in an ANDA litigation against Eisai Co and Novartis, seeking to invalidate the companies’ patents for branded anti-epileptic Banzel.
Click here for more information on our LMG “Life Sciences” rankings.
About Knobbe Martens
Knobbe Martens is a law firm that has been practicing exclusively in the area of intellectual property law for over five decades. Knobbe Martens focuses on all aspects of intellectual property and technology law including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, rights of publicity, client counseling, due diligence, and related litigation and licensing.
The firm is comprised of over 275 lawyers and scientists, with over 100 working in life science fields. The combination of law and deep technical knowledge makes Knobbe Martens attorneys uniquely qualified to represent a diverse array of clients in a broad spectrum of intellectual property matters. The firm is internationally recognized across the spectrum of life science disciplines and is considered an authority on related intellectual property issues. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.
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