Brian C. Trinque, Ph.D.

Brian Trinque, who holds a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, focuses his practice on intellectual property law in the pharmaceutical and chemical arts. His experience includes patent preparation, prosecution, and opinion work. He has worked with many clients in creating and managing portfolios focusing on all aspects of pharmaceutical development, including initial filings on novel chemical entities, as well as secondary filings directed toward salt forms, prodrugs, polymorph crystal forms, metabolites, formulations, administration routes, combination therapies, dosages, etc. He also has experience with technologies outside of the pharmaceutical arts, including process chemistry, polymer and material chemistry, electronic displays, fuel cell technology, biofuels, nutraceuticals, and food products. His clients range from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and universities, as well as independent inventors. 

Dr. Trinque frequently lectures on recent advances in life science cases from the Federal Circuit. 

His notable experience includes:

• Preparing and managing U.S. and international patent portfolios in a variety of technical areas, including small molecules, biologics, synthetic methods, drug delivery compositions, polymers, materials science, and medical devices. 
• Preparing patentability, freedom to operate, and invalidity patent opinions. 
• Assisting with due diligences related to acquisitions and licenses on behalf of acquirers. 
• Prosecuting families of patent applications directed toward various small-molecule drug candidates in clinical development. 

Prior to practicing law, Dr. Trinque received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in the laboratory of Professor C. Grant Willson. He also conducted research in the laboratory of Hiroshi Ito at IBM in San Jose, California. 

Court Memberships

• Massachusetts
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Honors

• Selected for Massachusetts Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” - 2011 and 2012

Publications

• Co-author, What Every General Counsel Needs to Know About the America Invents Act, BPLA Newsletter, Fall 2012
• Co-author, Game Changer: The America Invents Act, ACC Docket, September 2012
• Co-author, An ‘Obvious’ Ruling in Abilify Composition Patent Case, Law360, May 22, 2012
• Co-author, Pharmaceutical Innovation and the Use of the Lead Compound Analysis, Intellectual Property Today, Dec. 2011
• Co-author, Standing Up to Scrutiny: Federal Circuit decisions show 2nd generation drug patents can withstand allegations of non-obviousness, InsideCounsel, Sept. 29, 2011
• Contributor to numerous research articles, including articles published in Science, Macromolecules, and the Journal of Fluorine Chemistry.

Presentations

• “Chemical Practitioners' Guide to Small Molecule Federal Circuit Case Law,” Practising Law Institute, March 2012
• “Small Molecules, Second Generation Patents, and the CAFC,” Memphis Section of the American Chemical Society, October 2011
• “An Introduction to Pharmaceutical Patent Law,” Ole Miss Local Section of the American Chemical Society, October 2011
• “A Survey of Recent Federal Circuit Pharma Decisions,” Suffolk University Law School, April 2011
• “Nonobviousness of Chemical Inventions,” 240th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, August 2010
• “The Patenting Process: From Invention Disclosure to Patent,” April 2010
• “Finite Numbers: Identifying Trends in Recent CAFC Pharma Decisions,” February 2010
• “Small Molecule Obviousness: Pre-KSR, Post-KSR, and Looking Ahead,” January 2010 and November 2009