Venable LLP is pleased to announce that Benjamin C. Pelletier has joined the firm’s growing Patent Prosecution and Counseling Practice as counsel in the San Francisco office. Mr. Pelletier’s practice focuses on clients in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, life science, and medical device industries.

Mr. Pelletier advises clients in building and protecting patent assets throughout the world, and provides strategic counseling with respect to intellectual property due diligence, freedom-to-operate issues, analysis of third-party patents, and supporting non-infringement and invalidity opinions. He holds an advanced degree in bioengineering, and spent many years working at a leading biotechnology company as an engineer and project manager before attending law school. His experience broadly spans the areas of monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), stem cells, tissue engineering, 3D bioprinting, biosensors, genomic sequencing, and bioinformatics, as well as companion diagnostic assay systems and devices.

Justin E. Pierce, chair of Venable’s Intellectual Property Division, said, “Ben’s addition is a key part of our strategy to expand and broaden Venable’s presence in the intellectual property sector to meet the growing needs of our client base, especially when it comes to patent prosecution in the biosciences arena.”

James E. Nelson, partner-in-charge of the firm’s San Francisco office, said, “His expertise and relationships will allow us to further expand our capacity to engage and support clients in pharma and biotech. Further, with Ben’s addition, our San Francisco office continues its smart growth to more than 30 attorneys focused on building client relationships and leveraging skills covering a wide swath of client needs.”

“Ben joins a team with a deep bench of former patent examiners, strategists, and litigators with industry experience and advanced technical degrees who are skilled at advising clients on maximizing the value of their intellectual property portfolios,” said Dr. Michael A. Sartori, chair of Venable’s Patent Prosecution and Counseling Practice. “Our team has prepared and prosecuted tens of thousands of patents worldwide for U.S. and international clients, and we look forward to Ben’s contributions to our team as we continue to grow our top-ranked patent practice.”

Commenting on his move to Venable, Mr. Pelletier said, “My clients, who typically operate at the intersections of biology, medicine, engineering, and data science, are increasingly looking for law firms that provide a comprehensive suite of legal services to them; including patent prosecution. For example, Venable’s broad experience implementing successful regulatory and food and drug law strategies perfectly complements the patent prosecution and counseling work I do for my clients.”

Mr. Pelletier holds a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, an M. Eng. in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, and B.S. in bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley.