Tamera M. Weisser

Tamera M. Weisser, Ph.D. — Patent Litigation Practice Summary

Specialty / focus areas. Weisser is a life-sciences patent lawyer whose practice centers on biotech and pharmaceutical intellectual property — antibodies, cell and gene therapies, diagnostics, and drug formulations — rather than software, standards-essential patents, or mechanical arts. She is an IP partner in Jones Day's San Diego office and leads the firm's global patent prosecution practice, with emphasis on worldwide portfolio development, validity and freedom-to-operate analyses, and patent due diligence for investors and acquirers. Her tracked litigation docket is narrow: one plaintiff-side appearance as supporting counsel for BioMarin Pharmaceutical in a patent matter, which aligns with her firm's broader work representing BioMarin in patent enforcement, including ANDA/Hatch-Waxman disputes such as the Kuvan case against Par Pharmaceutical (D.N.J.) and the ongoing Ascendis Pharma disputes over C-type natriuretic peptide patents.

Side preference. Weisser works virtually exclusively for patent owners/innovators. Her tracked appearance is plaintiff-side (1-0), and her documented IPR work consists of defending patent owners' challenged patents. There is no indication she litigates for NPEs/PAEs or defends operating companies against them; her litigation role is secondary to, and supportive of, her prosecution-and-strategy practice. The single tracked appearance understates her dispute-related experience, which is best captured through her PTAB work described below.

Firm context. Weisser has spent her entire legal career at Jones Day, joining in 2004 and rising to partner; before that she was a patent agent at Hale & Dorr (1999–2004). She holds a Ph.D. in immunology/virology (UMass Medical School, 2000) and worked as a research scientist on DNA vaccine technology before law school — a background she applies directly to biologics patent work.

Notable cases and outcomes; PTAB/IPR experience. Her most notable verifiable dispute-side results are in IPRs defending AbbVie's Humira (adalimumab) formulation patents: she helped defeat institution of two IPRs brought by Amgen, five by Coherus, and one by Sandoz, with the PTAB denying each petition. She also built BioMarin's worldwide patent portfolio for Palynziq®, the PKU enzyme-replacement therapy, and has shaped IP strategy for blockbuster biologics including Humira, Revlimid®, Carvykti®, and Synagis® for clients such as AbbVie, BMS/Celgene, Janssen, Merck, Astellas, and Xencor. She is not a lead courtroom trial attorney; her litigation footprint is as portfolio/enforcement counsel and IPR defense counsel.

Bar / education. California bar (2004); J.D., Georgetown University Law Center (2004); admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit, and the Southern District of California, and registered before the USPTO.