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Clients | Case Study Detail

Interwest Partners

From due diligence for investors, to startup, to major acquisition, PPG guided Interwest Partners through every stage of the IP lifecycle. A biotechnology spinout company from Johns Hopkins University showed tremendous promise for its development of immunotherapeutics with the potential to revolutionize treatment for cancer. PPG was part of every stage of growth: from due diligence for investors, to startup, all the way through to acquisition by one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

At the outset, health care and information technology investor InterWest Partners was considering a stake in this startup company. PPG conducted the IP due diligence, and was able to affirm very favorable conditions for locking down valuable legal protections – prompting InterWest to make the investment. Impressed by PPG’s depth of knowledge in biotechnology, Interwest then asked us to serve as patent counsel and to prosecute patent applications for the startup’s proposed products. PPG developed a robust patent portfolio that could withstand challenges and secure maximum patent terms while remaining broad enough to cover potential products. We developed a comprehensive defensive patent strategy to protect the company from third party patent encroachment, monitored patent applications directed at similar technologies, and filed third-party observations and/or oppositions in other competitive patent applications.

The startup grew rapidly, and was later acquired by a leading global biologics research and development company in a nine-figure deal.