Shannon Reaney counsels pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients and specializes in patent matters in the areas of organic chemistry and small molecule pharmaceuticals. With 10 years of experience in the patent field, Dr. Reaney has a keen understanding of how to build and strengthen a patent portfolio and how to assess and manage third party intellectual property. She develops and manages large patent portfolios for mid-size to large companies and provides strategic advice on lifecycle management and issues relating to regulatory considerations. She also assists smaller clients with securing foundation intellectual property and with strategic positioning for investment or partnering opportunities.
Dr. Reaney facilitates business transactions and in-licensing opportunities through investor side and defensive due diligence. She assists venture capital firms in assessing target IP and provides opinions on patentability, validity, freedom to operate and infringement positions. Dr. Reaney assisted with a more than $225 million investment by Pfizer in firm client, Medivation, Inc., and was a key team member to other transactions such as NEA’s investment in Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, and Astellas Pharma, Inc.’s acquisition of OSI Pharmaceuticals.
She has worked with Medivation, Inc. since 2003 on patent portfolio management and advises biopharmaceutical companies such as Genentech in areas relating to chemistry. Other representative engagements include NeurogesX, Inc. and Topica Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Dr. Reaney received her J.D. from Santa Clara University and her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where her doctoral research concentrated on synthetic organic methodology and the use of lithium aminoborohydrides in novel hydride and amine transfer reactions. Prior to and throughout law school, Shannon was a patent agent at Morrison & Foerster LLP. Shannon has published several first-author papers in peer-reviewed journals and has presented her research at numerous conferences, including those sponsored by the American Chemical Society and the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress. She received a B.A. degree in biochemistry from Occidental College, where she conducted undergraduate research investigating psoralen-DNA intercalation.
Dr. Reaney is admitted to practice in California and in front of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.