Jones Day welcomes life sciences IP strategist and biologics patent prosecution partner Shovon Ashraf, Ph.D., Esq., in Boston
The global law firm Jones Day today announced that Dr. Shovon Ashraf, Ph.D., has joined the Firm as a Partner in the Intellectual Property Practice. He is based in Jones Day’s Boston Office.
Dr. Ashraf is a life sciences IP attorney with deep scientific and legal experience spanning all areas of biopharma, with a particular focus on biologics, including antibodies, antibody drug-conjugates, peptides, oligonucleotides and other gene and cell therapies. He brings nearly 20 years of experience advising biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and academic institutions on patent prosecution, portfolio strategy, freedom-to-operate analysis, licensing, and IP due diligence. Prior to joining Jones Day, Dr. Ashraf served as Vice President, Intellectual Property-Biologics at Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., where he built and led an IP team of patent attorneys and agents, developing offensive and defensive IP strategies across a broad range of biological modalities. While at Neurocrine, Dr. Ashraf played a pivotal role in negotiating several multi-billion dollar cross-border IP licensing and collaboration agreements.
“We have worked with Shovon for years when he was in private practice and later in his role leading the biologics efforts at Neurocrine. He brings a powerful combination of scientific depth and sophisticated IP legal experience that cuts across both in-house and outside counsel practice,” said Anthony M. Insogna, Practice Leader of Jones Day’s Intellectual Property Practice. “His extensive experience in building patent portfolios and advising company leadership on strategic IP counseling, combined with his negotiating and advising on licensing and collaborations, makes him an extraordinary asset for our life sciences clients. At Neurocrine, Shovon built and led a cutting-edge in-house team of patent attorneys and agents to support Neurocrine’s early innovations and clinical candidates, and we look forward to working to continue to grow our Boston IP capabilities with him.”
At Jones Day, Dr. Ashraf joins a law firm of 2,500 lawyers across 40 offices and a team of more than 220 professionals worldwide who assist clients with all aspects of IP portfolio development, technology-driven transactions and enforcement and defense in IP litigation. Jones Day is one of the few global law firms with a full-service Intellectual Property Practice, including the litigation of complex multi-jurisdictional disputes across the United States, Europe, China, Japan and Australia.
“Shovon has deep roots in Boston’s life sciences community and is a great addition to our strong IP team here in Boston and across the Firm,” said Colleen Laduzinski, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s Boston Office. “His experience leading IP strategy and cross-border IP licensing and transactions at a major biopharmaceutical company on the West Coast, combined with years of distinguished work in private practice on the East Coast, gives him a valuable perspective for Jones Day’s clients. We are delighted to welcome Shovon to our Boston Office, particularly as Jones Day marks 15 years in Boston with our recent move to South Station Tower.”
Dr. Ashraf earned his law degree from The George Washington University Law School, a Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and an M.S. in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. He also completed post-doctoral research in neuroscience at Harvard University, where he made seminal discoveries on the role of micro-RNAs and RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC) in memory formation—findings later published in Cell. Dr. Ashraf has also delivered scientific lectures at leading academic institutions worldwide.
“Jones Day’s reputation for true professional collaboration across offices and disciplines, and its unmatched depth in intellectual property law, made this opportunity very attractive at this point in my career,” said Dr. Ashraf. “I look forward to drawing on my scientific background and my experience on both sides of the attorney-client relationship to help clients build and protect their innovations. I am excited to be part of such a talented team.”
