Overview

The expanding global pharmaceutical market is worth about one trillion dollars, with half of this value in North America alone. While much of the success of the sector is due to the effort and innovation of countless professionals, an inescapable fact remains: pharmaceutical success also depends on sound and farsighted intellectual property foundations.

Meunier Carlin & Curfman works with corporations, startups, universities, and research institutions to protect and strengthen their intellectual property assets. Our intellectual property legal experience is comprehensive, ranging from preparing and prosecuting patents and crafting legal opinions to handling licensing and inter partes reviews (IPR) at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board. We handle matters and lecture on issues that are important to the pharmaceutical sector, including preparing non-infringement and invalidity opinions, inventorship analysis, patentability searches, and due diligence.

Our pharmaceutical experience is wide-ranging, and includes advising on and prosecuting patents for antiviral, antimicrobial, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and anticancer therapeutics, organic synthesis, targeted delivery and controlled release vehicles, and formulations, among others. We also represent clients internationally, including with multiple foreign opposition proceedings.

Our Pharmaceutical Legal Team

Our professionals hold advanced degrees in molecular biology, organic chemistry, immunology and veterinary medicine – backgrounds which help us understand the needs of clients who create a wide variety of drug innovations. Some of our team members have worked within the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry, including as a cancer researcher. Our legal experience in therapeutics, diagnostics, biopharmaceuticals, immunogenetics, infectious disease, and drug delivery proves beneficial when helping our pharmaceutical clients in patent protection, counseling, and litigation.

Pharmaceutical Client Experience

MCC represents the full range of pharmaceutical companies and institutions, from US-owned entities to foreign companies aiming to enter the US market.

Our representation includes mid-sized companies, large “name brand” corporations with extensive experience in the market, and venture-backed startups. We also work extensively with universities and research institutions, many of whom turn to corporate spin-outs in order to bring their intellectual property to market.

Startups, Universities, and Research Institutions: We have extensive experience working with universities and research institutions who often create spin-off startup ventures. We assist these institutions not only in licensing the results of their applied research, R&D activities, and inventions, but in obtaining and defending their patents from infringement.

As an established IP boutique with our own startup “roots,” we have deep experience working within the tech industry and provide venture-funded startups the flexibility required to help them thrive. Patent strategy, the ability to launch products, and patent portfolio management are key elements of our work with startups. However, as counselors we go beyond these core legal concerns to assist startups with their strategic goals, exit strategies, and analyses of third-party competitors.

Generics: We have a strong track record in assisting generic pharmaceutical companies with patent applications and legal opinions. On trademark matters, we guide generics through the domestic and international trademark systems, ensuring that their brand is registered and protected.

Foreign Pharmaceutical Companies: Companies face high barriers to entry in the US pharmaceutical market, including manufacturing, distribution, and brand recognition.