Robert M. Oakes

I'll research this attorney's background and practice before drafting.

Let me verify the Gilead/Merck result and the Regeneron matters.

Let me check PTAB/IPR history and bar admissions.

Robert M. Oakes — Fish & Richardson P.C. (Wilmington, Delaware)

Focus areas. Oakes is a life-sciences–centric patent litigator whose practice spans Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA/biosimilar disputes, biotech and diagnostic inventions, medical devices, chemical compounds, and software/hardware, plus patent counseling, freedom-to-operate and patentability opinions, and IP licensing. His tracked matters are almost entirely pharmaceutical/biologics patent litigation, and Fish's own bio describes the life sciences sector as his particular focus while noting broader technology coverage.

Side preference and firm context. His tracked appearances skew defense-side (2 defendant, 1 plaintiff), consistent with Fish's description of him as experienced "in both asserting and defending IP-related claims." On the defense side he has represented biosimilar manufacturers (Samsung Bioepis, Formycon) against innovator Regeneron; on the plaintiff/petitioner side he was part of the Fish team representing Gilead in Gilead Sciences v. Merck/Idenix. Firm filings also list him as counsel in the Janssen Biotech v. Celltrion litigation (D. Mass., pro hac vice, 2017). Oakes has spent his entire legal career at Fish & Richardson (including as a law student summer associate), following earlier work in Johnson & Johnson's legal department (2006) and as a biologist at the Louis Berger Group (2004–05). Fish's September 2026 announcement named him office managing principal of the firm's Delaware office effective October 1, 2026; his firm title is Principal, though the docket labels in the tracked case list reflect "counsel"/"Of Counsel" roles.

Notable tracked cases. In the Eylea/aflibercept BPCIA MDL, In re Aflibercept Patent Litigation (N.D.W. Va.), he represented Samsung Bioepis and Formycon as defendants against Regeneron; Regeneron obtained preliminary injunctions against both on U.S. Patent No. 11,084,865 that the Federal Circuit affirmed in 2025 (Regeneron Pharms., Inc. v. Mylan Pharms. Inc., 127 F.4th 896 (Fed. Cir. 2025)), with parallel IPR petitions (IPR2025-00176, -00233, -00456) denied institution. He was also a member of the Fish team that defeated Merck/Idenix's claims against Gilead over Sovaldi and Harvoni — the $2.54 billion jury verdict (largest ever U.S. patent damages award) was set aside by JMOL for lack of enablement in February 2018, and Gilead recovered roughly $14 million in fees in the related Merck matter. Publicly available Federal Circuit filings also list him on appeal briefing (e.g., No. 22-1878).

PTAB/IPR and credentials. Fish's bio states he handles post-grant reviews, and USPTO/PTAB records list a Robert Oakes of Fish & Richardson (Reg. No. 62,189) as counsel in post-grant proceedings, including Neurocrine Biosciences v. Spruce Biosciences (PGR2021-00088). That is consistent with regular PTAB work, though the filings' listed office address differs from his Delaware address, so treat the specific PGR identification as probable but not conclusively confirmed. Education: J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School (2008); M.S., Biology, Kansas State University (2003); B.S., Biology, Emory University (2001). He is a registered patent attorney (USPTO Reg. No. 62,189); directory sources list Delaware as his admitted state, but I could not confirm state bar admissions from a primary source.