Janet Xiao, Ph.D.

Janet Xiao, Ph.D.
Partner

755 Page Mill Road

Palo Alto, CA 94304-1018

jxiao@mofo.com

(650) 813-5736

REGIONS

China

BAR ADMISSIONS

California

U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

EDUCATION

Nanjing University, B.S.

Chinese Academy of Sciences, M.S.

University of California, Los Angeles, Ph.D.

University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, J.D.

Janet focuses her practice on worldwide patent procurement, patent portfolio management, and strategic planning for life sciences companies. Janet’s clients range from large multinational biopharmaceutical companies, such as Celgene and Genentech, to emerging startup companies around the world. She advises her clients on patent matters relating to various technologies, including antibody therapeutics, cell therapeutics, nanomedicine, gene therapy, drug delivery systems, diagnostics, and nutraceuticals.

Recognized by Chambers as being highly sought after for patent prosecution and strategy mandates by innovators from around the world, Janet develops and strengthens her clients’ complex patent portfolios to maximize their commercial value. She is instrumental in developing strategies for multibillion-dollar patent portfolios for pharmaceutical clients. As impressed clients noted to Chambers, “Janet’s work is thorough, polished and always of the highest caliber. She is well equipped to advise international clients on patent prosecution and strategy in the biotech industry, drawing on substantial technical knowledge.

Janet works extensively in performing IP due diligence reviews in the contexts of VC investments, technology transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and marketing and manufacturing clearance for biopharmaceutical products. She helps some of the world’s most-sophisticated biopharmaceutical companies and investors assess potential risks and devise preemptive risk-management strategies for their product development and investments. She has led hundreds of IP due diligence projects, and is noted for her in-depth knowledge of patent landscapes in the fields of cancer immunotherapy, gene editing, next-generation sequencing, liquid biopsy, antibody manufacturing, and medical devices. Janet works regularly with patent litigators in the event of legal challenges by third-party competitors or vice versa, and she is frequently called upon to represent clients in litigation and post-grant proceedings.

Janet is the Head of firm’s China Life Sciences Group and served as co-chair of the global Life Sciences Group from 2016 to 2019. She is among the very few IP attorneys in the world who are both equipped with solid skills in global strategic IP management and knowledgeable about IP issues unique to China and Chinese clients, and she has been the go-to counsel for IP issues in U.S./China cross-border transactions and operations in China. Chambers Global praises her as an outstanding IP lawyer “who is renowned for her work on IP issues concerning complex cross-border transactions, where she regularly advises Chinese clients.” In a recent edition of Chambers Global, a client says, “Janet . . . is very experienced in advising life sciences clients doing business in China and the US . . . She is highly responsive and always gives practical advice. Her IP expertise adds tremendous value to our business.”

Since 2005, Janet has been actively involved in the leadership team of the Chinese-American Biopharmaceutical Society (CABS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the life sciences communities in the U.S. and China, including serving as president for the 2011–2012 term. She is also a member of BayHelix, a nonprofit organization of Chinese heritage leaders in the global life sciences and healthcare fields.

Rankings

Recommended for Industry Focus: Healthcare: Life Sciences

The Legal 500 US 2018-2024



Recommended for Intellectual Property: Patents: Prosecution

The Legal 500 US 2024

Recognized as an Expert Based Abroad: China – Intellectual Property (International Firms)

Chambers Global 2014-2024

Recognized as a Foreign Expert for China – USA Intellectual Property

Chambers Global 2014-2024

Ranked for California – Life Sciences: IP/Patent Litigation

Chambers USA 2020-2024

Ranked for California – Intellectual Property: Patent Prosecution

Chambers USA 2022-2024

Ranked for California – Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial

Chambers USA 2019