Patrick H. Higgins

Overview

Patrick Higgins has over 25 years’ experience in the Industry building, preserving, and extending market exclusivity related to therapeutic entities.  Patrick’s practice focuses on both Pharma and Biopharma assets under the current authoritative judicial interpretation of the statutory requirements for patentability under Title 35 USC, as well as the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) (Biosimilars Act) (PHS Act §351(k)), Hatch Waxman Act, as well as FDA regulatory and data exclusivity under the FD&C Act (Title 21 USC; 21 CFR).

Patrick closely monitors biologics as well as relevant drug substance facts, freedom to operate, patent exclusivity, relevant scope, term, jurisdiction, ownership, validity, enforceability, as well as risk and antitrust exposure.

Prior to joining Eckert Seamans, Patrick was a partner at an international law firm in Princeton.  He previously served as senior patent counsel for a major pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for strategic portfolio development, risk evaluation, and due diligence matters.  Patrick was awarded the annual Global Director of Research Award as a Patent Attorney.  Before entering law school, he worked as a research scientist at a major pharmaceutical company.

Representative Matters

• Biopharma diligence, guidance, opinion work, and portfolio development.
• Small molecule compound therapeutics diligence, guidance, and opinion work.
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of its potentially $800 million strategic alliance with a German biotechnology company. Client received worldwide rights to a fully human antibody directed against a therapeutic target for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) and certain leukemias.
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of its $2.9 billion acquisition of another global biopharmaceutical company and its injectable formulation of paclitaxel, a mitotic inhibitor drug used in the treatment of breast cancer, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
• Represented a global healthcare company based in Switzerland in an appeal concerning an iron chelation therapy for the management of chronic iron overload due to blood transfusions (over $1 billion formulation annual commercial sales).
• Advised global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of its $2.9 billion acquisition of company that produces a treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome.
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of the potentially $500 million strategic alliance with a public biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, focusing on cancer immunotherapy.
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of the potentially $500 million strategic alliance with a public clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on anemia drug development.
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of its up to $640 million acquisition of a privately held biotech company, including an injection treatment for certain types of cancer called cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of a potentially $400 million collaboration and license agreement with a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company creating personalized therapeutics for patients with genetically defined cancers.
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of a potentially $500 million option and license agreement toward an antibody drug candidate with a biologic immunotherapeutic.
• Advised a global biopharmaceutical company in the IP diligence of a potentially $500 million strategic alliance toward antibody constructs with a private biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco.