Janice A. Vatland, PhD
Shareholder
| Biotechnology
Overview
Janice Vatland focuses her practice on strategic intellectual property portfolio development and management in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. With over 20 years of experience, she works with clients to tailor their patent and trade secret protection based on business objectives and competitor activities. She counsels clients of all sizes, including universities, start-ups, and small to mid-sized companies.
Janice also has experience with agreement and diligence matters; European oppositions; applications for Patent Term Extension and Supplementary Protection Certificate; Patent Term Adjustment requests for reconsideration; and biosimilar issues. She has obtained patent protection for a wide range of technologies including antibody, transgenic and sequencing technologies; particle and biologic-based delivery systems; immune-modulating and nucleic acid-based therapeutics; and new medical uses and formulations of known compositions.
Janice performed her doctoral work under the supervision of Professor William Thilly at MIT. Her doctoral work focused on long-term, low-dose cell cultures to determine the mutagenicity of chemical compounds. Her research experience extended to quantitative and statistical modeling of age-specific cancer mortality rates. Janice also previously worked as a Senior Specialist with ENSR, an environmental consulting firm, where she performed fate and transport analyses, and as a Civil Engineering Intern with the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Janice's thesis work was the subject of a number of newspaper and magazine articles, including articles in the Boston Globe and Self magazine. She serves as Chair of the firm’s PTO Practice Committee and is also the voice of the Wolf Greenfield phone system.
Experience
- Obtained dominating patents for an oncology company in a crowded area of antibody technology.
- Helped track and evaluate competitor positions and assisted with successful EPO oppositions.
- Worked with a start-up to understand its freedom-to-operate position and devise a patent strategy leading to successful rounds of financing.
- Assisted an early-stage biotech company in building a patent portfolio that has been licensed by a multinational pharmaceutical company in a deal worth as much as $900 million.
- Directed the patent prosecution worldwide for a targeted cancer treatment, including successful appeals in Japan.
- Conducted clearance analyses in connection with a client’s contemplated vaccine marketing.
- Assisted with obtaining a Patent Term Extension and Supplementary Protection Certificate for a biologic.
Activities
- American Bar Association
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- BioForward
- Boston Intellectual Property Law Association
Recognition
- Named to The Best Lawyers in America®
- Repeatedly named a United States Patent Leader in World IP Review's WIPR Leaders
- Repeatedly named one of Massachusetts Super Lawyers’ “Rising Stars” in the field of intellectual property law
- Repeatedly named one of The Top 100 Women Attorneys in Massachusetts by Super Lawyers
- Member of the Martin Fellows Society