Dr. Raffaella Faraoni's practice focuses on the development and management of global patent portfolios in the areas of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and biotechnology. A particular emphasis of her practice is advising clients regarding intellectual property matters for small molecule drugs. Raffaella has experience assisting in opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office, IP litigation, inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, and trade secrets litigation. Raffaella advises clients with matters relating to patent term extension (PTE) and Orange Book listings (approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence evaluations).
Raffaella also advises clients on due diligence matters, including providing patentability, validity, and freedom-to-operate analysis, in association with clients' investment in or acquisition of third parties, as well as licensing and collaboration opportunities. Representative clients include BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Puma Biotechnology, Genomatica, and Idenix Pharmaceuticals (a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.). Raffaella counseled and assisted clients in developing patent portfolios for INGREZZA®, NERLYNX®, and AURYXIA®.
Raffaella has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Swiss federal Institute of Techonolgy (ETH) and performed postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego. Her postodctorate work involved the total synthesis of natural products. Prior to joining Jones Day, Raffaella worked as a medicinal chemist at Ambit Biosciences and the Genomic Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), where her research area focused on the design and synthesis of kinase and ion channels small molecule inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and chronic pain. She is a coauthor of several peer-reviewed scientific articles and a co-inventor of a number of issued patents and patent applications.
Raffaella is actively involved in the Firm's pro bono initiative against human trafficking.
Experience
In an IPR, the Burden of Persuasion in an Obviousness Challenge Never Shifts to Patentee
- University of San Diego (J.D. 2018); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zurich (Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry 2004; Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship); "La Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy (B.A. in Chemistry summa cum laude 1999)
- California and registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Italian