Biotechnology & Life Sciences

From research and development through trademark analysis, patent prosecution, and portfolio management, Dickinson Wright’s Life Sciences team helps clients protect and commercialize innovation around the world. Our multidisciplinary team combines experience in biology, chemistry, health law, corporate, intellectual property, finance, agribusiness, and litigation. We represent clients across the life sciences industry, including universities, hospitals, medical device companies, biotechnology companies, and technology innovators.

Our practice also serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agricultural businesses, along with the banks, venture capital funds, and private equity firms that support them. We provide strategic counsel on funding, licensing, intellectual property protection, and regulatory matters before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other agencies.

Technical Experience

Our Experience

• Formation of corporations and limited liability companies, including governance documents, shareholder agreements, equity compensation, tax registrations, and organizational resolutions.
• Company financings, including founders’ stock, pre-seed and seed financing, angel investments, venture capital transactions, and related corporate governance.
• Public reporting, regulatory compliance, and capital raising for biotechnology companies.
• Drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, including SaaS, licensing, distribution, supplier, customer, professional services, and sales agreements.
• Business succession planning, buyouts, shareholder agreements, employee incentive plans, and other strategic business matters.
• Legal counsel throughout the research and development lifecycle, including research policies, clinical trial agreements, and research collaboration agreements.
• FDA regulatory guidance involving product promotion, market approval, expanded access protocols, humanitarian use devices, and human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products.
• Representation involving proprietary plants, genetics, and plant-derived products.
• Counsel to a private medical research institute in the development and approval of biomaterials, personalized medicine, and anti-aging technologies.
• Patent prosecution for life sciences, plant technologies, and health information technology innovations.
• Clinical research contracts and regulatory counsel for publicly traded medical technology companies conducting multi-site clinical trials.
• Product classification and pre-market strategy for startup medical device manufacturers.
• Counsel regarding university and institutional innovation programs, technology transfer, policy development, and innovation management.
• Counsel to a large healthcare provider on the commercialization and distribution of an internally developed diagnostic platform.