Kimberly J. Miller, Ph.D.

Dr. Kim Miller serves as a single point of contact for all IP-related matters her clients face. For more established companies, she easily adapts to their processes and procedures, blending seamlessly into their existing corporate structure while adding valuable insight regarding how to better leverage their IP assets. For smaller, emerging and fast-growth companies, Kim works diligently to identify the vision going forward, as well as to provide advice and procedural solutions that fit their agenda today and into the future.

Regardless of the size or extent of her clients’ IP assets, Kim is totally dedicated to conserving financial and other resources while seeking to ensure they get what they specifically need to succeed. A past chair of the firm’s International Department, Kim has conducted patent prosecution in more than 45 jurisdictions throughout the world. She offers a diverse practice in IP portfolio management and development, due diligence and landscape analysis, as well as licensing initiatives and obtaining design patents. Kim’s clients include individual inventors, venture funded start-ups, university spin-offs and publicly traded companies. Her practice spans a variety of technical disciplines, including chemistry, pharmaceuticals, polymers and biotechnology.

Kim is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®, listed as a “World IP Leader” by World Intellectual Property Review by WIPR, a “Life Science Star” by Legal Media Group and in the “World’s Leading Patent Professionals” in the Patent 1000 guide by Intellectual Asset Management, The Recorder’s “Women Leaders in Tech Law,” The Legal 500 as an outstanding practitioner, and San Diego Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar,” Kim is known and appreciated for treating her clients like family, understanding the importance of their business goals and remaining conscientiously respectful of their time. Kim is the ultimate problem-solver who is totally focused on analyzing and orchestrating all the moving parts of her client’s short- and long-term goals, creating a path for them that is actionable and effectual.

Kim’s notable successes include her representation of Alios BioPharma, Inc., which led to a $1.75 billion deal with Johnson & Johnson. She led the Knobbe diligence team and worked closely with Alios to zealously protect Alios’ interests in its negotiations. Additionally, she played a key role in the development and implementation of a licensing deal with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., that resulted in Vertex obtaining rights to two hepatitis C drug candidates from Alios in a transaction worth up to $1.5 billion, said to be the largest preclinical licensing deal in history. Kim was key in developing IP strategies for Alios, filing Alios’ patent applications, analyzing potential third party risks, conducting landscape analysis of third parties, and assisting Alios in the due diligence aspects of the deals with Johnson & Johnson and Vertex. She also assisted Alios with Series B financing that resulted in Alios raising $41M in Series B financing for the development of their respiratory portfolio.

As a speaker on both intellectual property law matters and gender issues, for which she studied at the graduate and undergraduate levels, Kim has organized and participated in various presentations across the country and before a variety of legal, business and other professional and community organizations. Kim is a member of the Lawyers Club, where she has organized monthly luncheons, and is active in the American Chemical Society and the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA).