Richard L. Torczon

I'll research this attorney before drafting.

Let me verify the tracked case and the PTAB proceedings.

Let me check the district court case and his pre-WSGR firm history.

Professional Summary — Richard L. Torczon (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati)

Specialty / focus areas. Torczon's practice centers on post-grant patent practice and patent litigation with a life-sciences and pharmaceutical concentration — particularly Hatch-Waxman–adjacent disputes over drug compositions and methods of treatment. His verifiable recent work involves netupitant/palonosetron (Akynzeo-line) patents covering methods and compositions for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. His firm bio describes experience across the full technology spectrum reviewed by the PTAB: computer-based inventions, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical devices, and plant and design patents. His technical credentials (B.A. computer science, M.S. biotechnology) are consistent with that range, though the tracked case list itself is exclusively pharma.

Side preference. The authoritative case list shows two tracked appearances, both plaintiff-side and both as lead counsel (0 defendant-side). In substance, his PTAB work is as a petitioner/challenger for Azurity Pharmaceuticals and, historically, as counsel for patent owners — e.g., lead counsel for the patent owner in IPR2016-00068 (U.S. Patent No. 7,854,310) and back-up counsel for the patent owner in IPR2019-00450. He is therefore best characterized as a post-grant specialist who works both sides of PTAB proceedings, rather than as a dedicated NPE/PAE prosecutor or a pure operating-company defense counsel. The plaintiff-only 2-0 count reflects a small sample, not a demonstrated one-sided practice.

Firm context and PTAB experience. He is senior counsel in Wilson Sonsini's Washington, D.C. office and a member of its patent litigation practice. Before private practice he spent roughly two decades in government: Administrative Patent Judge at the PTAB (from 1996), where he worked on interferences and appeals, wrote more than a thousand opinions and orders, was an early member of the interference trial section, and helped author PTAB rules; before that, associate solicitor in the USPTO Office of the Solicitor (Federal Circuit patent and trademark matters) and an Honors Attorney at the Department of Commerce. He was at Wilson Sonsini by late 2015 (listed as lead counsel on an IPR petition filed that November), and earlier worked at the Adachi International Patent Law Firm in Nagoya, Japan. IPR/PGR work is clearly a core part of his practice, not incidental.

Notable matters. In Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Helsinn Healthcare S.A. — the matter reflected in the tracked list — Torczon is lead counsel on five IPR petitions (IPR2025-00945 through -00949) filed May 1, 2025 against Helsinn patents 8,623,826; 9,186,357; 9,943,515; and 10,828,297. The PTAB instituted review on all five petitions on November 19, 2025, finding a reasonable likelihood of success on at least one challenged claim in each — a notable result given tightened institution rates; the trials remain pending (final written decisions expected 2026, based on the scheduling orders). He also appeared on the brief for appellant in Sydnexis, Inc. v. Eyenovia, Inc. (Fed. Cir. Nos. 2023-2402/-2403/-2411), appeals from IPR2022-00384/-00414/-00415 in which the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board on May 12, 2025 — an unsuccessful outcome for his client. I did not find verifiable jury verdicts or settlements attributable to him in public sources.

Bar / education. Admitted in the District of Columbia and Texas; registered patent attorney (USPTO Reg. No. 34,448); admitted to the Federal Circuit (and, per a 2022 congressional bio, the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court). J.D., University of Texas School of Law; M.S., Biotechnology, Johns Hopkins University; B.A., Computer Science, Rice University.

Note on sourcing: firm bio, USPTO/PTAB filings, WIPR's 2025 USA Patents ranking, and the Federal Circuit's Sydnexis judgment. Some older PTAB counsel listings predate his current title; the precise date he joined Wilson Sonsini is not stated in the sources reviewed.