Erik Olson spoke to Bloomberg Law about the trend of IP litigators as strategic business advisors, which has grown over the past decade as brand-name drugmakers look to them for help in determining what types of deals to strike in a way that dovetails with the company’s own R&D and broader business interests.
According to Erik, one element driving the shift is the inter partes review system at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Because “it is much more a hybrid of litigation practice and patent prosecution practice,” it’s better preparing patent litigators to play a part in dealmaking, Erik said.
He added that another factor has been the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, which “created a new biologics pathway, which creates more pressure around trying to model when other companies may enter a market and how other new biologics or new biosimilars may affect other revenue streams.”
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