Vifor Pharma, a world leading Nephrology, Iron Deficiency and Cardio-Renal pharmaceutical company, is experiencing rapid growth due to pipeline realization and optimization. We are currently looking for a Senior Patent Attorney (Therapeutic Area Lead) to join our Legal team at our Headquarters in Zurich. In this exciting position, you will secure and optimize market exclusivity for the Vifor products/projects or in-licensed products and will ensure safe launch/commercialization of the Vifor products or in-licensed products. Your goal will be to protect Vifor’s Intellectual assets & Global business activities within a TA; develop, manage, defend and enforce a patent portfolio; advise stakeholders in all IP related matters as well as regulatory exclusivity rights. You will be a TA team Leader of the Global IP team which is part of the Global Legal team and you will be directly reporting to the Head of IP. Key Tasks Providing patent and strategic support to the Vifor Pharma group covering a broad spectrum of patent support for a certain Therapeutic Area Responsible for managing a broad range of stakeholders at Vifor Pharma with a significant impact on business decisions and outcomes Taking initiatives and actively leading IP related projects generating values for the company Advising Vifor Pharma, including senior management and key stakeholders, in all patent/IP-related matters, including patent litigation, business development, parallel import, product patent situation, product exclusivity matters (regulatory data exclusivity, orphan drug exclusivity, pediatric exclusivity, PTE/SPC) and life cycle management related to your TA Managing patent litigations and instructing external local counsel and assisting in patent litigation Contributing to the realisation of an effective patent portfolio to safeguard rights for inventions made in or for Vifor Pharma and to protect Vifor Pharma products by an appropriate patent portfolio (including any IP incentive rights). You are safeguarding that Vifor Pharma products are marketed without infringing other parties’ patent rights As Senior Patent Attorney (TA lead) you manage directly Vifor Pharma’s TA patent portfolio both with respect to pending applications and granted patents, in order to safeguard the rights of the company in a cost-effective manner and in such way that an optimal patent portfolio is created and maintained to protect Vifor Pharma already marketed products on the one hand and new products that are still in the development phase, taking into account national and international law and guidelines Next to this you will coordinate/draft freedom-to-operate or patentability opinions both with respect to new Vifor Pharma products and in-licensing candidate products in your TA As Senior Patent Attorney you are actively involved in due diligence activities, review and analyze license agreements and other contracts related to your TA You might manage one or more junior IP specialist(s) and ensure your team member(s) deliver appropriate support in accordance with the tasks of their respective Job Descriptions Qualifications The knowledge and skills necessary to perform the duties of this position are typically acquired through the following combination of education, experience and knowledge, or the equivalent Minimum Requirements At least a Master’s degree in life sciences Qualified US or European Patent Attorney Track record of strategic management of a global IP portfolio Experience in due diligence (in-licensing, M&A) Expertise in life cycle management At least 10 years post-qualification experience as an in-house patent attorney in pharma industry or patent attorney in private practice strongly exposed to pharma projects Experience with global IP contentious matters (e.g. oppositions, appeals, litigations) Experience with negotiating IP sections in agreements (license, distribution, MTA, research collaborations…) Competences As Senior Patent Attorney (TA Lead) you are a team player and able to lead cross-functional teams or a team of patent lawyers. You are open and transparent in information sharing You have a high degree of attention to detail, and you are able to follow many prescribed processes You have state of the art know how of European patent convention procedures, international patent application procedures, national and foreign patent procedures and electronic databases such as national, European and international online database You have also a strong understanding of drug development, regulatory affairs, clinical development and generic challenges You are a creative and strategic thinker who is able to see the ‘big picture’ As self-starter you are able to initiate, drive, lead and shape the patent strategy as well as the strategic business issues relevant for your area of responsibility Furthermore, you have the ability to deal with highly confidential information with discretion and sensitivity You manage priorities and deal with conflicting demands in a global organization You also have excellent organizational and planning skills and the ability to multitask and to work to tight deadlines As Senior Patent Attorney you have excellent interpersonal written and verbal communication skills in English You can interact with plenty of internal functions, senior management, external partners, and you can build great relationships with people from other cultures You are keen on new developments in European and international case law with respect to patents and other exclusivity IP rights
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