Intellectual Property Attorney

Alexza Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company located in Mountain View, California.  We are developing breakthrough therapies for the treatment of acute and intermittent medical conditions.  Alexza was founded by Dr. Alejandro Zaffaroni who is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the biomedical industry with a long list of successful start-ups to his credit, including ALZA, Affymax and Affymetrix Corporations.

Alexza is currently seeking qualified candidates for an in-house Intellectual Property Attorney role that will have responsibility for providing legal counsel to the Company regarding patent and intellectual property matters and making recommendations to senior management regarding filing of patent applications covering Company inventions.

Responsibilities:

• Prepare, file and prosecute US and foreign patent applications on Company inventions.

• Analyze prior art on developing products to avoid potential infringement and identify patentable research subject matter.

• Work with senior management and company project teams, develop and implement strategy for protection of Alexza intellectual property and trademarks; chair the Alexza Patent Committee.

• Assess business risk based on freedom-to-operate (FTO) analyses of Alexza projects and activities; communicate the risk to project teams and senior management in practical terms; and work with internal groups to proactively mitigate such business risks in accordance with industry and Company best practices.

• Work with and counsel internal project teams and senior management on opportunities to protect the Company’s commercially valuable inventions; continuously deepen professional expertise and effectiveness of interactions with Alexza scientists and leadership.

• Participate on project teams and assist in all patent matters relevant to research and clinical efforts.

• Provide IP support to Business Development efforts, including IP due diligence surrounding transaction opportunities; provide contract negotiation support.

• Prepare recommendations and work with outside counsel on patent prosecution and patent litigation related to protection of patent portfolio and Company products.

• Take active responsibility for the patent portfolio of all technologies, targets, and projects.

• Review for approval proposed research papers and other publications for impact on patent estate.

• Keep abreast of development in and changes to patent laws and other intellectual property laws.

• Work with outside counsel to secure and maintain Company trademarks.

• Coordination of patent, copyright, trademark, and all other intellectual property matters handled by outside counsel.

• Actively collaborate with the R&D staff on all pertinent intellectual property activities in developing and implementing strategies and procedures for protecting and asserting the intellectual property rights of the Company.

• Responsible for overseeing worldwide patent, copyright, trademark and intellectual property matters.

Skills required:

• Must have strong interpersonal skills to interact with a variety of disciplines within and outside the Company

• Must be able to prioritize, execute and follow through on a high volume of work given an early stage, flexible company environment

• Must be a self-starter, resourceful and able to participate in a highly collaborative team-oriented environment

Education and experience:

• JD plus California Bar admission required

• Minimum 5 years of IP experience in both recognized law firms specializing in biopharmaceutical/high technology patent law and/or biopharmaceutical experience; device experience a plus

• Life Sciences degree preferred, PhD in chemistry, engineering; or experience as a scientist a plus

• Reports to the Sr, VP, CFO