Skip to content
IP + Technology Law
Robert J. Hilton - Partner - San Diego

Robert J. Hilton, Ph.D.

Partner
San Diego
robert.hilton@knobbe.com
858-707-4000
vcard iconDownload vCard

Overview

Dr. Robert J Hilton has extensive experience advising clients in biotechnology and pharmaceutical intellectual property issues. Robert represents a wide array of clients, including international companies and startups. He brings deep technical skills to clients’ work in therapeutics, antibodies, molecular biology, immunology, regenerative medicine, personalized and precision medicine, vaccines, drug delivery systems, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals, making him go-to counsel for patent protection issues of all kinds. Robert’s passion for the law and science allows him to appreciate his clients’ technical innovations and develop strategies for safeguarding and rewarding these advances.

Robert has substantial experience in all aspects of patents, including drafting and prosecution, patentability, validity, and due diligence reviews. He also provides advice on risk management of intellectual property matters. Robert offers honed skills in global patent portfolio creation and management. Robert has guided companies from inception of ideas through building strong patent portfolios to secure business goals.

 

Education

  • Brigham Young University (J.D., 2014), cum laude
  • Brigham Young University (Ph.D. Biochemistry, 2011)
  • Brigham Young University (B.S. Biochemistry, 2006)

Bar Admissions

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

News & Insights

Articles

  • FDA Grants Breakthrough Status to Dthera Sciences’ Alzheimer’s Therapeutic

  • First Prosthetic Iris Approved

  • FDA Approves NorthStar’s Tc-99m Generator

  • RoundTable to Acquire Symmetry Surgical for $143 Million

  • FDA Approves the First Insulin Pump and Glucose Monitoring System for Children

  • Hilton, R. J.; Seare, M. C.; Andros, N. D.; Kenealley, Z.; Watt, R. K. Phosphate Inhibits In Vitro Fe3+ Loading into Transferrin by Forming a Soluble Fe(III)-Phosphate Complex: A Potential Non-Transferrin Bound Iron Species. J. Inorg. Biochem., 2012, 110, 1–7.

  • Hilton, R. J.; Zhang, B.; Martineau, L. N.; Watt, G. D.; Watt, R. K. Anion Deposition in Ferritin. J. Inorg. Biochem. 2012, 108, 8–14.

  • Hilton, R. J.; Andros, N. D.; Kenealey, Z.; Watt, R. K. The Ferroxidase Center is Essential for Ferritin Iron Loading in the Presence of Phosphate and Minimizes Side Reactions that Form Fe(III)-Phosphate Colloids. Biometals, 2012, 25(2), 259-273.

  • Snow, C. L.; Martineau, L. N.; Hilton, R. J.; Brown, S.; Farrer, J.; Boerio-Goates, J.; Woodfield, B. F.; Watt, R. K. Ferritin Iron Mineralization Proceeds by Different Mechanisms in MOPS and Imidazole Buffers. J. Inorg. Biochem. 2011, 105 (7), 972–977.

  • Keyes, J.; Hilton, R.; Farrer, J.; Watt, R. Ferritin as a Photocatalyst and Scaffold for Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis. J. Nanopart. 2011, 13, 2563–2575.

  • Johnson, J.; Kenealey, J.; Hilton, R. J.; Brosnahan, D.; Watt, R. K.; Watt, G. D. Non-reductive Iron Release from Horse Spleen Ferritin using Desferoxamine Chelation. J. Inorg. Biochem. 2011, 105, 202–207.

  • Biotechnology Blog

Speeches & Seminars

  • A Negative Role for the Ferritin Nano-Cage: Anion Transport. nanoUtah Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2010.

  • Maximizing the Efficiency of Ferritin as a Photocatalyst for Applications in an Artificial Photosynthesis System. International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), San Diego, CA, March 2010.

Latest Updates and News

Blog - Biotechnology
Nov 2024
New Tool From EPA, FDA, and USDA Guides Developers of Genetically Modified Microorganisms Through Regulatory Landscape
On October 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new web-based interactive tool on the Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation for companies that develop microbial biotechnology products. The purpose of the tool is to help developers fulfill the regulatory requirements necessary to work with genetically modified microorganisms. The tool defines "genetic modification" as any technique that uses recombinant, synthesized, or amplified nucleic acids to modify or create a genome. “Microorganisms” include prokaryotes (e.g., bacteria and archaea), protists (e.g., amoebas), fungi (e.g., yeast, mold, mushrooms), green and red algae, and viruses or virus-like particles. Through a series of prompts, the tool provides users with information on regulatory requirements and the approval process across agencies. A built-in feedback function allows stakeholders to submit feedback directly to the agencies, which have expressed a commitment to continuing to improve the tool and expand its utility, scope and user base.
Blog - Biotechnology
Feb 2024
District Court Finds Mylan (Viatris) Infringes Regeneron’s Eylea Patent
On December 27, 2023, Judge Thomas S. Kleeh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia issued an order finding that Mylan (Viatris) infringed claims 4, 7, 9, 11, and 14-17 of Regeneron’s U.S. Patent No. 11,084,865 (“the ’865 patent”) after a nine-day bench trial held in June 2023.
Blog - Biotechnology
Nov 2023
Federal Circuit Says Extrinsic Evidence Should Have Been Considered in Claim Construction
In a recent precedential opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated an infringement judgement against Mylan (Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., No. 2022-1889, Fed. Cir. Nov. 6, 2023). This Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigation involved Actelion’s patents related to epoprostenol formulations, which cover Actelion’s brand name product, Veletri®, an injectable drug for treatment of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Blog - Biotechnology
May 2023
FDA Approves Qalsody™ for Treatment of ALS
On April 25th, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved QalsodyTM (tofersen) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with a mutation in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene (SOD1-ALS). The accelerated approval for QalsodyTM was based on a reduction in levels of plasma neurofilament light (NfL), a biomarker associated with neuronal injury and neurodegeneration. QalsodyTM was developed in a partnership between Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Biogen Inc.
News
Jan 2021
Knobbe Martens Elevates 10 Attorneys to Partner
Knobbe Martens, one of the leading intellectual property law firms in the United States, is pleased to announce that 10 associates have been promoted to the firm’s partnership ranks, effective...
Blog - Biotechnology
Mar 2019
Athena Diagnostics, Inc. v. Mayo Collaborative Services, LLC: Claims Reciting Conventional Method Steps found Patent Ineligible
On February 6, 2019, the Federal Circuit decided Athena Diagnostics, Inc. v. Mayo Collaborative Services, LLC, affirming a District Court for the District of Massachusetts decision that the claims at issue were patent ineligible for being directed to a natural law.