Fish & Richardson Named 2020 Intellectual Property Boutique Firm of the Year by LMG Life Sciences; Wins Patent Impact Case of the Year

Fish & Richardson has been named the 2020 Intellectual Property Boutique Firm of the Year by LMG Life Sciences. Fish was also awarded the Patent Impact Case of the Year Award - the second time in three years - for its ongoing success for client Gilead Sciences, Inc. in Idenix Pharmaceuticals et al. v. Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Fish recently closed the latest chapter in Gilead's ongoing battle with Idenix Pharmaceuticals when the Federal Circuit denied, in a precedential decision, Idenix's bid to reinstate a $2.5 billion verdict (en banc review denied April 2020). The court upheld Fish's argument that Gilead's landmark Sovaldi^®and Harvoni^® hepatitis C drugs were not liable for infringement, finding Idenix's patent invalid for not adequately explaining how to make the treatment. The appellate decision came 18 months after Fish reversed on JMOL the $2.5 billion jury verdict, which at the time was the largest patent damages award in history. The firm has represented Gilead over the past five years in this worldwide complex patent battle, which has spanned the U.S., the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Norway.

Fish won another groundbreaking life sciences case for client Mayo, Athena Diagnostics Inc. v. Mayo Collaborative Services LLC, with the Federal Circuit affirming that an Athena patent on a method for diagnosing a rare autoimmune disorder was invalid. In denying en banc review, the Federal Circuit issued 86 pages of opinions. Fish also opposed Athena's certiorari petition by noting that the U.S. Supreme Court had already provided adequate guidance in its Mayo v. Prometheus decision - another Fish Mayo win that set up the two-part rule for patent-eligibility that is now used for all technologies. The court denied certiorari, which ended this closely-watched case in January 2020.

The world's most innovative life sciences companies, academic institutions and research organizations trust Fish's Life Sciences group - with its more than 115 attorneys and technical specialists with biology, chemistry or genetic engineering degrees, including over 50 attorneys with PhD’s - to handle their most important and technically sophisticated work. Fish's litigation practice is known for its ability to handle massive, high-profile patent disputes requiring extensive global litigation coordination, and the firm is a leader in Hatch-Waxman litigation for branded pharmaceutical companies. The group's patent prosecution, counseling and transactions practice is one of the most active in the world, with over 1,700 life sciences patent applications filed in 2019. Over the last six years, Fish oversaw IP due diligence on over $50 billion worth of life sciences deals. The firm is also the most active firm at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.