Anita Varma Joins Top Biotech Patent Practitioners at the ACI Biotech Patent Conference

September 15, 2008 – September 16, 2008

The ACI Biotech Patent Conference is the place biotech patent practitioners come to learn and discuss the most recent and vital changes facing the industry today.

Ropes & Gray partner Anita Varma is co-teaching the post-conference Master Class on Drafting Successful Patent Applications for Biotechnology Related Inventions on September 17, 2008. She will walk you through the process of drafting the claims and specifications for these increasingly complex applications, and provide you with the tools you need to draft strong applications that will be well positioned to withstand future challenges.

Topics to be covered include:

  • What are the examiners looking for
  • What you should include – and avoid – in drafting a successful patent application in light of evolving case law and standards
  • How to address Federal Circuit case law in your application proactively
  • When to file broad and when to file more narrow claims
  • Whether claims of differing scope should be filed in the same or separate applications What are we to do about biological products (nucleic acids, proteins, antibodies) that at the time of filing, can only be described functionally and not structurally
  • Drafting the application to anticipate potential generic drugs and biologics