Mark D. McBriar focuses his practice on patent drafting and prosecution, IP due diligence, freedom to operate, patentability evaluations, re-examinations, and litigation support. Dr. McBriar works with pharmaceutical and life sciences companies on small molecule pharmaceutical compounds, synthetic methods, drug discovery, and methods of treatment.

Dr. McBriar drafts and prosecutes U.S. patent applications and directs foreign patent prosecution relating to various pharmaceutical and biotechnology matters. He conducts freedom-to-operate, invalidity, non-infringement, and patentability studies for clients, as well as due diligence portfolio evaluations.

Dr. McBriar works with technologies that include small molecule anti tumor, cardiovascular, and central nervous system pharmaceuticals; radiolabeled imaging agents; and veterinary and agricultural pesticides. He also works on innovations in the fields of organic chemistry, including small molecule discovery scale and process scale synthesis, and medical devices, including cardiovascular valve repair devices and stents.

Prior to joining the firm, Dr. McBriar was Special Counsel at another major international law firm, where he directed prosecution of chemistry and pharmaceutical patent prosecution, provided support in ANDA and biosimilar litigation, and performed due diligence and patent strategy counseling for clients in the life sciences industry.

Dr. McBriar was previously an Associate Principal Scientist and, before that, a Senior Research Scientist with the Cardiovascular/Central Nervous System Discovery Chemical Research at the Schering-Plough Research Institute (now known as Merck). There, he designed, synthesized, and optimized central nervous system preclinical drug candidates for Alzheimer’s and anti-obesity therapeutics.

Dr. McBriar also worked as an assistant scientist with the Cardiovascular Discovery Research at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now known as Sanofi-Aventis), where he synthesized peptidomimetics and non-peptide enzyme platelet aggregation inhibitors for cardiovascular therapies.

During his doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. McBriar's focused on asymmetric total synthesis of Spongistatin 1, a potent anti-tumor marine marcolide natural product.

Dr. McBriar earned his B.S. in chemistry, cum laude, from Dickinson College, where he conducted independent research in which he initiated an organometallic-based approach to the synthesis of the analgesic cyclomethicaine, as well as participated in the design of a software application using the Kalman filter technique to improve signal to-noise ratios in analysis of atomic absorption spectra.