Vice President, Intellectual Property (IP) - Hybrid
Denali TherapeuticsNeurodegenerative diseases are one of the largest medical challenges of our time. Denali Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies for neurodegenerative diseases through our deep commitment to degeneration biology and principles of translational medicine. Denali is founded on the collaboration of leading scientists, industry experts, and investors who share the vision that scientific discovery energetically applied to translational medicine is the key to delivering effective therapies to patients.
We invite you to consider an opportunity with Denali to help achieve our goal of delivering meaningful therapeutics to patients.
Key Accountabilities/Core Job Responsibilities:
Lead the creation, development, and execution of strategies for Denali’s patent and trademark portfolios, copyrights, trade secrets, and other intellectual property matters, including partnering with Discovery, Development, and Technical Operations leaders to protect platform and product rights through patent portfolios, ensure freedom to operate, and proactively communicate strategies and progress updates to Denali’s teams, Leadership, and the Board.
Lead and mentor a high-functioning IP Legal team, including creating team organization and function strategy, recruiting top talent, managing resource allocation and the IP Legal budget, and creating and delivering regular reports on team progress.
Act as a point of contact and liaison for the IP team to the Corporate Development team.
Develop strategic guidance on IP transactional matters to facilitate and support the goals of the Business Development, Contracts, and Alliance Management teams, which may include all aspects of IP transactional work, such as reviewing, drafting, and negotiating IP-related terms in confidentiality, material transfer, collaboration, and licensing agreements, advising on terms of strategic alliances, performing diligence for licensing opportunities.
Partner with our Finance and Corporate Legal teams in the preparation, review, and filing of securities filings, including creating and developing disclosure strategies for Discovery and Development related data, drafting and reviewing IP Legal disclosures and risk factors in securities filings, and facilitating the due diligence process related to corporate financings.
Counsel teams and leadership at our South San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and Zurich sites, in aggressively building and defending Denali’s IP rights worldwide, including strategies for Denali’s patent portfolio and Denali’s competitiveness and freedom to operate for our platform and products, which may include oppositions, inter-parte reviews, and IP-related litigation.
Build and manage Denali’s partnerships with outside counsel law firms to foster longterm relationships and prioritize and focus work done externally, so that Denali achieves high-quality and cost-effective legal results.
Contribute to the leadership of the Legal team by identifying creative ways for the team to improve, keep the team informed of legal developments, and build and maintain a broad network of industry and government relationships.
Lead direct report(s) through annual goal setting, growth planning, adherence to company policies, maintain training compliance and provide ongoing feedback on growth, development and areas of improvement.
Qualifications/Skills:
J.D. degree and a graduate degree in a life sciences discipline.
At or near 20 years of experience in life sciences patent portfolio preparation, prosecution, licensing, defense, and enforcement, preferably including substantive experience with protein and biologic therapeutic discovery, development, and commercialization.
Typically 15 years of experience managing corporate intellectual property teams, including attorneys.
Advanced knowledge of domestic and international intellectual property laws, regulations, and processes relating to patents.
Self-motivated, creative, solution-oriented, while maintaining good attention to detail.
Able to develop, prepare presentations on, communicate clearly to teams and Leadership, and lead a team’s execution of intellectual property strategies.
Entrepreneurial, fosters good risk taking, and enjoys working in an international, fast paced environment.
Willingness to work collaboratively by incorporating diverse perspectives and appropriately managing relationships with internal partners and teams, and build relationships with external collaborators, industry leaders, and government officials.
Coaching and developing teams of experienced IP legal professionals.
Significant experience in both a law-firm and in-house setting preferred.
Active registration in good standing to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Active member in good standing of at least one state bar.
This compensation and benefits information is based on Denali’s good faith estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future.
Denali is committed to its core company value of unity by creating a diverse and inclusive environment. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, basis of disability, or any other federal, state, or local protected class.