November 13, 2012

Alan F. Feeney, Esq.

Life Sciences Director

Managing Partner

IP Attorney

Innovator

Mr. Feeney advises clients in patent strategy, portfolio management, patent prosecution, trademark protection, copyright filings, and trade secret matters. Additionally, he regularly advises Wall Street investors for Fortune 500 companies. He has over 25 years of legal experience specializing in intellectual property law and holds an advanced Legal Letter Master (LL.M.) law degree in Intellectual Property Law. This distinction is a post-graduate, advanced law degree that focuses solely on critical nature and detailed nuances of one of the most dynamic fields of legal practice today: intellectual property law.

Working as the U.S. Patent Counsel for IPSEN located in Paris, France, Mr. Feeney developed intellectual property strategies to protect the company’s peptide and protein products and drug development candidates. He successfully drafted and defended over 100 patents. While at IPSEN, Mr. Feeney also served as patent counsel for many international joint ventures and partnerships.

Mr. Feeney graduated in 1997 from the University of New Hampshire with a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property degree (LL.M.). He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1990. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Boston College. Mr. Feeney is currently working on completing a Master of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Florida.

Selected achievements

  • Executive in pharmaceutical and biotech industry with 20 years of experience in research & development teams
  • Developed patent portfolios, resulting in the creation of two billion-dollar, publicly-traded, US companies
  • Strong experience in drug discovery and development, peptide engineering, protein engineering, medicinal chemistry, R&D management, project management, CRO/CMO management and alliance management
  • Member of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
  • Biotechnology and Biomedical Research Group (subcontract)
  • Instrumental in the monetization of a neglected patent portfolio resulting in the creation of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals and raising $73 million in financing
  • Promoted to Senior Patent Counsel responsible for the management of patent portfolios for U.S., Ireland and Spain
  • Founding member of ERINE collaborative with Erasmus University (Rotterdam, NL)
  • Instrumental in securing one of the first grants ($1 million) awarded by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to one of IPSEN Pharmaceutical’s collaborators
  • Architect of the argument leading to European decision T 0578/06 which provided for the submission of post-published evidence to support inventive step
  • Drafted over 100 US patent applications
  • Drafter of Abaloparatide, Relamorelin, RM-493 and Taspoglutide as potential therapeutic agents for treating osteoporosis, GI functional disorders, obesity and type II diabetes, respectively

Specialties

  • Intellectual property identification, development and protection
  • Drug discovery and development, peptide therapeutics, peptide engineering, protein engineering, medicinal chemistry, peptide formulation, biologics
  • Mechanical engineering patents
  • Trademark strategy and prosecution
  • Legal R&D management, project management, and alliance management

Memberships

  • The Bar for the District of Columbia (June, 2017)
  • The Bar for the State of Rhode Island (2014)
  •  Federal Bars for the Northern and Western Districts of New York (1999)
  •  Federal Bar for the District of Massachusetts (1998)
  •  Registration United States Patent and Trademark Office (1997)
  •  The Bar for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1996)
  •  Federal Bar for the Southern District of Florida (1994)
  •  The Bar for the State of Florida (1990)

Boards & Philanthropy

  •  The University of Rhode Island cGMP Innovations Lab, Board Member
  •  Women in IP Committee
  •  American Lung Association; Fenway Health Center; ACOS

Areas of Expertise

  • IP Strategy Development
  • Patent Application Drafting
  • Freedom to Operate Analysis
  • Patentability Analysis
  • Joint Venture Management
  • Trademark Strategy and Registration
  • Copyright Registration
  • License Agreement Negotiation
  • Out-/In-Licensing Scouting
  • Foreign/Domestic Prosecution
  • Third Party Patent Evaluation
  • IP Counsel to Staff
  • IP Litigation Strategy Coordination
  • Competitor Patent Auditing
  • Complex Commercial Litigation