Karen works with life sciences clients to procure worldwide patent rights and develop competitive patent strategies. She advises clients in all aspects of patent portfolio management, including strategic planning and licensing, and product life cycle management. She performs infringement, validity, patentability and freedom-to-operate analyses. Karen also has extensive experience in interferences, re-examinations, oppositions and litigation. She counsels clients across a wide range of technology areas in life sciences including small molecule pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical formulations, biologics, diagnostic and therapeutic methods in molecular and cellular biology, immunology, microbiology, biochemistry, genomics and computational biology.
Prior to starting her legal career, Karen was an academic research scientist having received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied the regulation of c-myc oncogene expression in HL-60 cells by vitamin D. As a post-doctoral fellow in Microbiology at NYU Medical Center, she studied the effect of amino acid deprivation on asparagine synthetase expression and characterized the transmembrane domains of FGFR-2 and FGFR-3.
Representative Clients and Matters:
- Participated in various U.S. interferences, oppositions and litigations.
- Representative interferences include: tumor necrosis factor ligand (TWEAK); bone morphogenic proteins; transgenic fibrinogen.
- Representative oppositions include: HIV protease inhibitors (EPO, Israel, India); IL-1 Inhibitor (EPO); bone morphogenic proteins (EPO).
- Representative litigations include: Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary v. QLT, Inc. (D. Mass); Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary v. Novartis Ophthalmics (D. Mass).
Education
- JD, magna cum laude, New York Law School, 2000
- PhD (Pharmacology), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1992
- BS (Biochemistry), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1984
Bar Admissions
- New York
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Courts
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Memberships & Affiliations
- New York Intellectual Property Law Association
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
Presentations
- "Considerations For Post-KSR Biotech/Pharma Patent Prosecution," American Conference Institute, New York, NY (February 25-26, 2008)
- "International Considerations In Freedom To Operate: U.S. and E.U. Perspectives," American Conference Institute, San Francisco, CA (October 24-25, 2005)
- "International Concerns In Freedom To Operate Determinations," American Conference Institute, New York, NY (March 14-15, 2005)