Sarah A.Geers

Partner

New York + 1.212.326.3936

Sarah Geers represents pharmaceutical clients in intellectual property litigation in a variety of venues, including in district court, arbitration, and at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Her practice spans Hatch-Waxman and other patent infringement actions, inter partes review proceedings, trade secret, and misappropriation actions. Her litigation experience spans discovery, trial, and appeal.

Sarah was involved in the successful resolution of Hatch-Waxman litigation involving the transdermal patch Butrans®, as well as a plethora of patent infringement actions involving the pain medication OxyContin®. More recently, she was part of a team that helped Juno Therapeutics and Sloan Kettering win a more than $1.1 billion final award in a case in which the jury found that defendant Kite Pharma willfully infringed the asserted patent for cancer immunotherapy. She currently represents Merck in patent infringement actions against 16 generic defendants groups related to Bridion®, a first-in-class agent for the reversal of certain types of neuromuscular blockade in adults undergoing surgery.

Sarah is currently an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law, where she teaches a course on patent litigation.

Sarah was named a Law360 Life Sciences Rising Star in 2020, which is awarded to lawyers under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

Before becoming a lawyer, Sarah worked as a research chemist at Merck & Co., where she was responsible for solid dosage form development and associated preformulation research.

Experience

  • Merck unit resolves DJ action involving pneumococcal vaccine patentsJones Day represented Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. in an action in Delaware district court against Pfizer (through its subsidiaries including Wyeth, LLC) involving several patents on Wyeth’s vaccine technology.
  • Sloan Kettering and Juno Therapeutics win over $1.1 billion after jury verdict and post-trial motions in patent dispute with Kite Pharma/Gilead involving CAR-T therapyOn behalf of patentee Sloan Kettering Institute and exclusive licensee Juno Therapeutics (a subsidiary of Celgene Corporation, a Bristol Myers Squibb company), Jones Day and co-counsel prevailed in a jury trial that spanned eight days and involved 22 witnesses, wherein the jury awarded our clients $752 million in compensation for the infringement of their patents by Kite Pharma, Inc. (a Gilead Sciences, Inc. company) through the making and selling of its infringing CAR-T therapy, YESCARTA®.
  • Merck asserts patent infringement claims under Hatch-Waxman Act relating to Bridion® against 16 generic drug makersJones Day is representing Merck & Co., Inc. in Hatch-Waxman patent infringement actions against 16 generic drug maker defendant groups, relating to the defendant groups' submissions of Abbreviated New Drug Applications to the FDA seeking approval of generic versions of Bridion®, a first-in-class agent for the reversal of certain types of neuromuscular blockade in adults undergoing surgery.
  • Allergan defends JUVEDERM® patents against nine IPR petitions filed by ProlleniumJones Day is representing Allergan, Inc. before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") on nine IPR petitions filed by Prollenium challenging multiple patents covering certain of Allergan's JUVEDERM® products, hyaluronic acid-based dermal fillers that include the anesthetic lidocaine.
  • Purdue Pharma asserts patent infringement claims under Hatch-Waxman Act related to OxyContin® against IntellipharmaceuticsJones Day is representing Purdue Pharma L.P. in a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement action against defendants, relating to the defendants' submission of a Section 505(b)(2) New Drug Application to the FDA seeking approval of an extended-release oxycodone formulation.
  • Purdue Pharma successfully resolves Hatch-Waxman patent infringement claims against Ascent related to OxyContin®Jones Day successfully represented Purdue Pharma L.P. in related Hatch-Waxman patent infringement actions against defendant Ascent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., pertaining to the submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the FDA seeking approval of a generic version of OxyContin®.
  • Adocia prevails in biopharma license agreement dispute in international arbitrationJones Day won a binding arbitration award for French biopharmaceutical company, Adocia S.A., in a license agreement dispute against Eli Lilly and Company.
  • Purdue Pharma successfully moves for additional discovery regarding real-party-in-interest, leading to termination of IPRs before institutionJones Day defended patent owner, Purdue Pharma L.P., in connection with two inter partes review (IPR) petitions brought by the petitioner, Kashiv Pharma, LLC, against U.S. Patent Nos. 9,492,392 and 9,492,393.
  • Purdue Pharma successfully resolves Hatch-Waxman patent infringement claims against Epic Pharma related to OxyContin®Jones Day successfully represented Purdue Pharma L.P. in related Hatch-Waxman patent infringement actions against defendants Epic Pharma, LLC and PuraCap Pharmaceutical LLC, pertaining to the submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the FDA seeking approval of a generic version of OxyContin®.
  • Purdue Pharma successfully resolves Hatch-Waxman patent infringement claims against Amneal and Kashiv related to OxyContin®Jones Day successfully represented Purdue Pharma L.P. in related Hatch-Waxman patent infringement actions against defendants Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC and Kashiv Pharma, LLC, pertaining to the submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the FDA seeking approval of generic versions of OxyContin®, a widely prescribed treatment for pain relief.
  • Purdue Pharma asserts patent infringement claims under Hatch-Waxman Act related to OxyContin® against AbhaiJones Day successfully represented Purdue Pharma L.P. in a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement action against the defendant, Abhai LLC's, submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the FDA seeking approval of generic versions of OxyContin®, a widely prescribed drug for pain relief.
  • Purdue Pharma asserts patent infringement claims under Hatch-Waxman Act related to OxyContin® against MylanJones Day successfully represented Purdue Pharma L.P. in a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement action against defendants, relating to the defendants' submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the FDA seeking approval of generic versions of OxyContin®, a widely prescribed treatment for pain relief.
  • Purdue Pharma successfully resolves Hatch-Waxman claims against companies seeking to make generic version of transdermal patch Butrans®Jones Day client Purdue Pharma L.P. successfully resolved a patent infringement action it brought under the Hatch-Waxman Act against two companies that sought FDA approval to market a generic version of Purdue's Butrans® product prior to the expiration of certain patents owned by Purdue.
  • Purdue Pharma asserts patent infringement claims under Hatch-Waxman Act related to OxyContin® against KVK-Tech and AbhaiJones Day is representing Purdue Pharma L.P. in a Hatch-Waxman patent infringement action against defendants, relating to the defendants' submission of an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the FDA seeking approval of generic versions of OxyContin®, a widely prescribed treatment for pain relief.