Z. Jean Ge, PhD

Overview

Jean Ge is a trusted advisor to innovators in the life sciences industry. She develops sophisticated IP strategies designed to protect enterprise value and support long-term business objectives. Jean’s counsel is grounded in a deep understanding of each client’s unique technology and market position. She translates this insight into actionable legal strategy across the full spectrum of patent practice, including global patent portfolio development, freedom-to-operate analyses, and third-party risk management. She regularly guides clients through complex IP due diligences integral to corporate transactions, including financings, mergers, and acquisitions.

As an intellectual property strategist, Jean is dedicated to protecting high-value, complex biotherapeutics. Her practice is built on a foundation of sophisticated technical, legal, and business acumen, focused on creating patent portfolios that drive commercial success. This legal practice is sharpened by the insights from her prior scientific career, including nearly 10 years of hands-on RNA research. This unique combination of experience equips her to fully grasp the intricacies of the most advanced RNA technologies and innovations that bridge scientific fields, such as antibody-oligonucleotide conjugates. Ultimately, it allows Jean to craft patent strategies that are technically deep, legally robust, and strategically aligned with the global regulatory and product lifecycle realities.

Jean’s role as a thought leader extends throughout the biotech innovation community. As a respected international speaker, she is sought after for her ability to distill complex topics, addressing audiences on a range of advanced subjects including patenting advanced biotherapetutics, the strategic alignment of global IP with regulatory exclusivity, and the nuances of IP due diligence in biotech transactions. She is also a dedicated mentor to emerging companies, guiding the next generation of scientific entrepreneurs within leading incubators, academic accelerators, and venture-sponsored networks.

Experience

• Developed and managed the global patent portfolio and strategy for an early-stage biotech focused on rare muscle diseases, enabling over $400 million in successful financing and advancement to a clinical-stage company with multiple pipelines.
• Devised and executed coordinated patent strategies, including global exclusivity and third-party risk management, for companies developing antibody, ADC, AOC, and RNA therapeutics.
• Managed global patent portfolios and developed exclusivity strategies for a major pharmaceutical company’s clinical candidates in immuno-oncology and RNA therapeutics.
• Counseled a global pharmaceutical company on IP due diligence for its $950 million acquisition of a pre-clinical cell therapy company.
• Advised a global pharmaceutical company on IP due diligence for its $525 million acquisition of a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company.
• Advised venture capital firms on IP due diligence for the foundational investment in and formation of an early-stage immunology and inflammation company.
• Conducted IP due diligence for private equity firms considering investments in early-stage RNA therapeutics companies.
• Represented early-stage biotech companies in defending their IP during high-stakes due diligence for private financings, IPOs, and acquisitions.
• Represented Chinese biopharma companies defending IP due diligence for out-licensing deals and US venture establishments, and separately advised investors conducting IP due diligence for similar cross-border transactions.
• Designed and executed portfolio development strategies to resolve complex double patenting issues for a portfolio covering biologic therapeutics.
• Collaborated with European counsel to develop and execute successful patent opposition strategies.
• Drafted and negotiated patent license agreements and key IP provisions within sponsored research agreements.

Activities

• Key Opinion Leaders Advisory Board for Oxford Global’s Biologics Conference Series
• Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society
• The Society of RNA Therapeutics
• RNA Society
• Women in Bio
• Start-up mentor for Nucleate, MassChallenge, MassBioDrive, Swissnex, and The eForum

Recognition

• Recognized on the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list by The Best Lawyers in America® (2025)
• Named to the list of Massachusetts Rising Stars by Super Lawyers (2023, 2024)
• Law Dean's Scholarship, Suffolk University Law School (2018-2021)
• Trustee Academic Scholarship, Suffolk University Law School (2018-2021)
• NIH Intramural Research Training Award, National Institutes of Health (2012)

Interests

• Rock Climbing
• Golf
• Hiking
• Cooking