Steven J. Sarussi is co-chair of the firm’s Chemical Practice Group. With more than 30 years of experience, he helps a variety of clients – including pharmaceutical companies, startups, and universities – manage their patent portfolios. In addition to patent prosecution and counseling, Mr. Sarussi also supports companies with patent lifecycle strategy development, patentability, invalidity and non-infringement analyses, and due diligence investigations.

With a focus on the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Sarussi attributes much of his success to his education and past experience in the chemical industry, which gives him a unique perspective of his clients’ challenges and goals. His knowledge of chemistry, medicinal chemistry and biology allows him to easily communicate with a client’s scientific personnel to quickly understand their technologies and provide valuable legal advice.

Drawing on his background in chemistry and experience in intellectual property law, Mr. Sarussi has assisted clients with intellectual property aspects of development, research service, confidentiality, and other types of agreements in the pharmaceutical industry and beyond. He has been involved in securing and enforcing patents for a variety of technologies, including:

• Anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical products
• Treatments for neurological disorders
• Cancer therapies
• Catalysts
• Coating compositions
• Printing technology
• Solar panels
• Cleaning products
• Cosmetics and personal care products
• Food and beverages
• Polymers
• Nanomaterials
• Agricultural chemicals
• Lubricants
• Surfactants

Mr. Sarussi has extensive experience with patent term extensions and Orange Book listings of patents covering FDA-approved drugs, and helps his clients maximize the value of their patents. He also has experience with opposition proceedings and patent prosecution matters at the European Patent Office.

Before diving into the patent and intellectual property world, Mr. Sarussi was a medicinal chemist in the cardiovascular diseases research group at G. D. Searle and Company. Outside of the office, Mr. Sarussi lives an active lifestyle, and has participated in nearly 25 triathlons over the years. He also has a green thumb and enjoys gardening, with a particular interest in growing peppers to make homemade hot sauce.

• Prepared and prosecuted a portfolio of small molecule pharmaceutical patents for a startup biotech company, which led to its acquisition by a large pharmaceutical company.
• Prepared and prosecuted a portfolio of small molecule pharmaceutical patents for a startup biotech company, which resulted in licenses and discovery collaborations with several large pharmaceutical companies seeking treatments for neurological diseases and disorders.
• Managed a large team of patent agents and attorneys to prepare and prosecute patent applications for a collaboration between top 10 pharma companies seeking therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and disorders. This involved servicing a large chemistry and biology discovery group that synthesized and tested new compounds.
• Successfully developed a patent prosecution strategy leading to the issuance of a patent covering a company’s lead compound in its anti-cancer program, which resulted in a license expansion with a top five health care company.
• Developed patent strategies and portfolios for numerous companies pursuing development of small molecule therapeutics and clinical candidates.
• Prepared and prosecuted patent applications for compounds to treat neurological disorders for a top five pharmaceutical company.
• Advised top 10 pharmaceutical companies with respect to “patent life-cycle management” strategies for multibillion-dollar anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical products.
• Developed a patent application filing strategy for a start-up company seeking treatments for various inflammatory disorders, which helped the company obtain a substantial capital investment.
• Developed a successful patent design strategy for a solar panel manufacturer.
• Developed a patent re-examination strategy that allowed a cleaning product manufacturer to obtain a license to valuable patents and technology.

• Chicago Bar Association
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon