Ronald C. Kern Jr., Ph.D.

Partner

Philadelphia
T +1.215.564.1669
F +1.215.568.3439

Overview

Ron Kern is a partner in BakerHostetler’s Intellectual Property Group and focuses his practice on patent strategy in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries. He assists clients in all stages of the development and commercialization of biological products, including evaluating preclinical and clinical results, advising clients of future scientific studies and analyzing the patent portfolios of both client and competitor prior to product launch.

Through due diligence assessments, patent portfolio management and patent prosecution, Ron assists a wide range of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, start-up companies and universities, to enhance and protect their IP rights. He focuses on immunology, molecular biology, microbiology and biochemistry fields, and has extensive experience with a wide range of technologies, including antibody and protein therapeutics, vaccines, gene therapies, immunotherapies and diagnostics.

Select Experience

  • Assists a multinational pharmaceutical company in strategic business-making decisions by providing freedom to operate, patent validity and patentability assessments and in evaluating potentially infringing competitor products.
  • Assists a multinational pharmaceutical company in its marketing clearance of new products, including antibody therapeutics and vaccines.
  • Assists a multinational pharmaceutical company in its in-licensing of various platform technologies and biological products, including gene therapy assets, monoclonal antibodies, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies and nucleic-acids.
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Experience

  • Assists a multinational pharmaceutical company in strategic business-making decisions by providing freedom to operate, patent validity and patentability assessments and in evaluating potentially infringing competitor products.
  • Assists a multinational pharmaceutical company in its marketing clearance of new products, including antibody therapeutics and vaccines.
  • Assists a multinational pharmaceutical company in its in-licensing of various platform technologies and biological products, including gene therapy assets, monoclonal antibodies, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies and nucleic-acids.
  • Assists a multinational pharmaceutical company with developing and implementing IP strategies focused on the prevention and treatment of various skin irregularities.
  • Works closely with a biotechnology startup to develop and implement IP strategies focused on treatment of chronic infections.
  • Drafted and prosecuted hundreds of U.S. and foreign patent applications.
  • Drafted ex parte reexamination petitions for a Fortune 500 global science company in advance of the launch of a new commercial product.

Recognitions and Memberships

Memberships

  • Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association
    • Board of Governors (2015 to 2017)
    • Hospitality Committee (2013 to 2015)

Community

  • Living Beyond Breast Cancer: Board of Directors (2015 to 2017)

Industries

Admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Registration No. 71,482
  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey

Education

  • J.D., Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, 2012, cum laude, with honors in Intellectual Property
  • Ph.D., Molecular Pharmacology and Structural Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, 2009
  • B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 2002, with honors

Blog

In The Blogs

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IP Intelligence: Insight on Intellectual Property
U.S. Electronic Patent Grants and the Effect on the Timing of Filing Continuation and Divisional Patent Applications
By Ronald C. Kern Jr., Ph.D.
March 10, 2023
On April 18, 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will begin moving away from issuing paper patents and will begin issuing patents electronically as electronic patent grants (eGrants). In addition to reducing paper waste, the...
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IP Intelligence: Insight on Intellectual Property
The Supreme Court Again Declines to Address the Written Description Standard
By Ronald C. Kern Jr., Ph.D.
January 11, 2023
Without any comments, the Supreme Court has denied Juno Therapeutics’ Petition for Rehearing, which requested that the Court hold the case in abeyance pending the resolution of Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, Aventisub LLC. Juno filed its petition...
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IP Intelligence: Insight on Intellectual Property
Supreme Court Denies Review of the Written Description Requirement
By Ronald C. Kern Jr., Ph.D.
November 16, 2022
Just days after agreeing to review the scope of the enablement requirement in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, Aventisub LLC, the Supreme Court denied Juno Therapeutics, Inc.’s (Juno) request to review the scope of the written description...
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IP Intelligence: Insight on Intellectual Property
Supreme Court to Address What it Means to Have an Enabling Disclosure
By Ronald C. Kern Jr., Ph.D.
November 8, 2022
The Supreme Court has granted Amgen’s Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, agreeing to address what it means to provide an enabling disclosure. In particular, Amgen asked the Court to address: Whether enablement is governed by the statutory...
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IP Intelligence: Insight on Intellectual Property
Characterization of Claim Elements as "Conventional" Results in Section 101 Subject Matter Ineligibility
By Ronald C. Kern Jr., Ph.D.
July 25, 2022
In an attempt to broaden a patent’s disclosure and provide Section 112 support for features that are not explicitly disclosed within the patent’s specification (such as reagents, assays, techniques, etc.), patent applications are often...
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