Senior Counsel, Small Molecule-Innovation Law

Role Summary

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is seeking an experienced patent attorney or agent to join our headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, or one of our research centers in Cambridge, MA, or San Diego, CA. The patent practitioner will support clients across multiple functional areas to provide strategic counsel to key stakeholders across the enterprise. Responsibilities will primarily include internal preparation and prosecution of patents, as well as playing a pivotal role in managing multiple programs, advising on freedom to operate, business development diligences, and cross-functional client counseling.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and prosecute patent applications, including drafting, filing, and managing responses to office actions on a global level.
• Provide comprehensive program counseling to various functional areas, ensuring alignment with BMS's strategic objectives.
• Develop and implement advanced IP strategies to protect BMS's innovations and support business goals.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration efforts working closely with R&D, regulatory, commercial, and other departments to achieve project milestones.
• Conduct freedom-to-operate analyses and provide strategic counsel on patentability and infringement issues.
• Manage patent portfolios, including conducting patent landscape analyses and developing patent strategies to protect BMS's innovations.
• Provide due diligence support for business development activities, including evaluating IP portfolios of potential partners and acquisition targets.
• Draft and negotiate license and research collaboration agreements.
• Manage relationships with outside counsel to ensure high-quality and cost-effective legal services.
• Regularly engage with business and technical teams to provide IP-related guidance and support.
• Stay updated on changes in patent laws and regulations and ensure compliance with all relevant legal requirements.

Qualifications

• Registered to practice before the USPTO.
• A J.D. degree and admission to at least one state bar is preferred.
• 10 or more years of patent law experience in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in chemistry, biochemistry, or pharmaceutical sciences. An advanced degree and/or scientific research experience is preferred.
• Excellent analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Service-oriented focus with the ability to work as part of cross-functional teams and drive results.
• Highest integrity, excellent judgment, and the ability to proactively recognize and effectively assess business risk and communicate legal issues to patent, legal, and key stakeholders.

Skills

• Patent prosecution
• Strategic IP counseling
• Freedom-to-operate analyses
• Portfolio management
• License and collaboration agreements
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Regulatory and R&D liaison

Education

• J.D. degree; degree from an accredited institution