News Article

Public Relations Contact: Russell Thomas, (202) 857-4517

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, is expanding its Life Sciences Patent practice in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets, with a particular emphasis on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

The expanded team includes four PhDs—Chris Jeffers, Butch Carroll, Parithosh Tungaturthi, and Alireza Behrooz. Jeffers and Carroll, registered patent attorneys, and Tungaturthi, Technical Specialist, all join Womble Carlyle from Connolly, Bove, Lodge & Hutz, LLP in Washington, D.C. Behrooz, a registered patent attorney, will relocate to D.C., from Atlanta to join the recent additions.

Jeffers has extensive experience representing life science companies of all sizes, from emerging bio/pharma and device companies through Fortune 100 companies. Prior to joining Connolly, he represented Alba Therapeutics Corporation in Baltimore as General Counsel, and currently coordinates all global IP activities for various companies. He has offices in both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Carroll was a Patent Examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the former Patent Manager of Life Technologies Corporation, a global biotechnology tools company which was acquired by Invitrogen Corporation. He has over 12 years of patent prosecution experience, focused on the life science industry. Tungaturthi is an immunologist and former Patent Examiner in Biotechnology for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The recent additions join a rapidly growing Life Sciences patent team, which includes members in the North Carolina and Northern Virginia offices. The North Carolina contingent includes team leader Carl Massey and Amy Fix, former Senior Patent Counsel at GlaxoSmithKline. Rick Jordan, a former microbiology researcher, is resident in the Womble Carlyle’s Northern Virginia office in Tyson’s Corner. In all, the firm’s Life Sciences Team includes nearly 50 attorneys, giving Womble Carlyle the bench strength to handle even the most complex matters.

The group members’ significant experience as scientific researchers, in-house executives, and outside counsel gives them a rare appreciation for the business aspects of intellectual property law, and allows them to uniquely align business strategy to intellectual property strategy. Carl Massey, leader of the Life Science Patent Team noted, “One of the real strengths of the team that we’ve assembled is their breadth of knowledge of the industry, from conception to commercialization, and beyond, to enforcement of related IP rights. Our members’ front line experience with the problems facing emerging companies, coupled with our experiences in “big pharma” life cycle and IP management and enforcement give us a uniquely business-focused perspective on intellectual property law.”

“The practice of patent law in the life sciences industry requires specialized scientific experience beyond just a knowledge of patent law. Our team has this advanced level of knowledge to meet the needs of even the most sophisticated clients,” said Jim Vaughan, co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. “The expansion of our life sciences team increases our already strong presence in this critical industry, and demonstrates our commitment to becoming a national leader in life sciences patent law.”

The expansion of the Life Sciences Patent Team reflects the firm’s overall growth in intellectual property practices. Womble Carlyle’s Intellectual Property Practice Group has doubled in size to 70 attorneys in recent years.

Likewise, Life Sciences have become a particular point of emphasis in recent years, and the firm has been on the cutting edge of legal representation in this field. The firm’s Life Sciences Industry Team offers a multidisciplinary approach to assisting biotechnology, pharmaceutical, animal health, and medical device companies.

Womble Carlyle - Innovators at Law
A full-service business law firm, Womble Carlyle ranks among American Lawyer magazine's list of the 100 leading firms in the country and is a top law firm for companies doing business in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.

The firm is a recipient of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award, making Womble Carlyle the first law firm ever to receive the highest honor given to a business organization in recognition of its support of the Fund and its 45 member educational institutions.

The firm also is the first law firm to be awarded the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award, which is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

Founded in 1876, Womble Carlyle operates in six states and the District of Columbia with more than 500 attorneys in eleven offices located in Atlanta, GA; Greenville, SC; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, NC; Washington, DC; Tysons Corner, VA; Baltimore, MD; and Wilmington, DE. Womble Carlyle is located in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and serves clients nationally and globally.