Director, Patents– Pharmaceuticals (Chemistry)

Role Summary

Director, Patents – Pharmaceuticals (Chemistry). Gaithersburg, MD. Hybrid work—on average 3 days a week from the office.

Responsibilities

• Independently lead all aspects of build, maintenance and defense of specific patent portfolios
• Actively counsel members of Research & Development organizations to identify new inventions as well as devise and implement strategies for patent protection over the extended drug development life cycle
• Build and implement global strategic approaches toward building patent portfolios and contributing to increased business value
• Prepare and prosecute patent applications worldwide including effectively managing outside counsel as needed
• Lead all aspects of large intellectual property estates in AstraZeneca's core and opportunistic therapeutic areas
• Evaluate and monitor patent portfolios of third parties
• Develop and communicate IP guidance to partners across the business, including within R&D, Business Development, commercial and legal
• Review and analyze license agreements and other contracts
• Provide IP and technical analysis in support of patent litigation and oppositions
• Identifying and managing all associated IP risks for your project – presenting them to IP, legal and business teams. You’ll craft strategies for the filing, prosecution, maintenance and defense of patents in your portfolio against third-party challenges.
• Managing external spend to meet budget targets
• You may also work on business development deals or coordinate our response to legal changes in a particular country or region

Qualifications

• Qualified US patent attorney, with previous experience of handling pharmaceutical patent portfolios
• Bachelors degree or equivalent in Chemistry
• At least 7 years of relevant experience in life science patent prosecution with global portfolios
• Strong core chemical/small molecule pharmaceutical patent prosecution skills and ability to independently lead patent dockets and portfolios in multiple markets and jurisdictions
• Strong communication skills
• Ability to be an enterprise leader for the organization
• High level of integrity and motivation, ability to work independently
• Ability to balance multiple tasks and projects with constantly evolving priorities

Desirable

• Education to Ph.D. level or equivalent, and/or several years of laboratory experience in the relevant scientific area
• Experience in the biotech and/or pharmaceutical industry
• Combined in-house and law firm experience preferred
• Experience in leading external service providers
• First-hand experience of IP-related litigation

Skills

• IP strategy and portfolio management
• Patent prosecution and litigation support
• Cross-functional collaboration with R&D, business development, legal
• Budget management and vendor oversight
• Global patent landscape awareness

Education

• Bachelors degree or equivalent in Chemistry
• Ph.D. preferred (Desirable)

Additional Requirements

• Office Working: in-office minimum of three days per week