Chicago Office
300 N. LaSalle Street Suite 4000
Chicago,
Illinois
60654
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Professional Experience
Sara Vinarov is a partner in the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Dr. Vinarov is a registered patent attorney, who specializes in representing clients in the life sciences arena. Prior to joining Quarles & Brady LLP, Dr. Vinarov worked for The Procter & Gamble Company in both their cardiometabolic division and pharmaceutical/healthcare patent division. She has extensive experience representing research institutions (universities, hospitals and clinics) and companies (startup and multi-national) on obtaining patents for inventions that are successfully licensed and commercialized worldwide.
Dr. Vinarov has extensively prepared/prosecuted U.S. and foreign patents; counseled clients in strategic management of patent rights; managed extensive international patent portfolios; successfully handled U.S. patent reexaminations and foreign opposition proceedings and advised clients on inventorship, noninfringement, patentability, freedom to operate and validity issues relating to biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals and healthcare technologies.
Dr. Vinarov’s practice primarily includes:
- Preparing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications in diverse technologies, such as:
- Stem cells (pluripotent/multipotent): methods, cell culture and media
- Molecular diagnostic (kits and methods)
- Biomarker detection assays
- Structural genomics / proteomics
- Gene, peptide and protein therapeutics
- Engineered collagen
- High-throughput drug screening assays
- Immunogenic compositions / vaccine therapy
- Prescription drug monitoring metabolite detection methods
- Drug addiction therapies
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- Antibody technologies
- Transgenic animals
- Anti-cancer cytotoxic engineered enzymes
- Glycobiology / carbohydrate chemistry
- Antisense, siRNA and RNAi technologies
- Nucleic Acid Synthesis / genetic constructs
- Bio-pulping methods / paper manufacturing
- Genetically engineered plants and trees
- Conjugated Nanoparticles (diagnostic and decontamination)
- Dietary supplements
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- Counseling clients on strategic global patent asset portfolio management.
- Directing foreign counsel on patent prosecution matters, appeals, oral hearings and oppositions.
- Counseling clients relating to inventorship, patentability, noninfringement, validity and freedom to operate issues.
- Advising clients on matters relating to non-disclosure, university joint venture and license agreements.
- Managing patents for complex multi-institutional research collaborations.
Representative Patents (select links below to access patents): 6,455,762 Methods of modifying lignin in plants by transformation with a 4-coumarate coenzyme a ligase nucleic acid 7,129,396 Dominant Gene Delaying Flowering 7,176,007 RecA Mutants 7,176,023 Endothelial cells derived from primate embryonic stem cells 7,183,406 Method for the Synthesis of DNA Sequences 7,205,011 Anti-Inflammatory Activity of a Specific Tumeric Extract 7,306,698 Method for Producing Pulp 8,088,897 Assay Method for Group Transfer Reactions 8,048,425 Cytotoxic ribonuclease variants 7,439,064 Cultivation of human embryonic stem cells in the absence of feeder cells or without conditioned medium 7,442,500 Methods of Diagnosing Susceptibility to Obesity 7,973,132 Cell-permeable fluorescent proteins 7,585,680 Method and device for monitoring medication usage 7,592,176 Method of forming mesenchymal stem cells from ES cells 7,771,942 Genetic Markers for Prostate Cancer 7,858,741 Stabilization of the Collagen Triple Helix By O-Methylation of Hydroxyproline Residues 7,887,783 99 MTC-Labeled 19 Amino Acid Containing Peptide for Use as a Phosphatidylethanolamine Binding Molecular Probe and Radiopharmaceutical 7,943,631 Method of Treating Drug Addiction Using Dextro-Morphine 7,977,079 Nucleic Constructs Encoding Cytotoxic Ribonuclease Variants 7,981,670 Method of Assessing DNA Mutability 8,030,072 Method of Isolating Epidermal Neural Crest Stem Cells 8,092,647 Methods for Treating Lignocellulosic Materials
Education and Honors
- Marquette University Law School (J.D., 2000)
Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review (Lead Articles Editor).
- University of Notre Dame (Ph.D., 1998)
Degree: Biochemistry.
- Trinity University (B.S., 1992)
Degree: Biochemistry.
Bar Admissions
Illinois,
2009
Wisconsin,
2000
Court Admissions
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2001
U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, 2001
Professional Recognition
Named one of Madison Wisconsin’s “40 under 40” by In Business magazine (2008).
Professional and Civic Activities
- Women In Bio - Chicago Chapter (Board of Directors).
- Association of University Technology Managers - “AUTM” (Member).
- American Intellectual Property Law Association - “AIPLA” (Member).
- Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago - “IPLAC” (Member).
- American Bar Association - “ABA” (Member).
- Illinois State Bar Association (Member).
Languages
Farsi
Selected Presentations/Publications
- Quoted, “Local women's biotech group chapter is launched,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, November 9, 2010.
- Extensively Quoted, “Ruling Tightens Requirements to Secure Early-Stage Patents,” Principal Investigator Advisor, Vol. 1, No. 5, June 2010.
- Expert Commentary, “It's My Invention. Shouldn't My Name Go on the Patent Application?,” Principal Investigators e-Alert, June 2010.
- Co-author (with Maria Frenn Kallmeyer), “Immigration and Innovation: Creating a Competitive Edge for U.S. Companies,” Society for Biomolecular Sciences newsletter, Issue 46, pg. 4, June 2010.
- Expert Commentary, “Will Collaborator Who Provided Only Test Facilities Be Considered Co-inventor?,” Principal Investigators e-Alert, May 2010.
- Presenter, “IP Issues for Start-Up Companies - Patents as a Business Tool,” BIOFLORIDA: Entrepreneurship & Start-Up Support in Southwest Florida, April 20, 2010.
- Presenter/Published Outline, “What Every Business Lawyer Should Know About Changes in Patent Laws That Can Affect Your Clients?,” Annual Convention of Wisconsin State Bar-Business Section, 1:111-127, May 2008.
- Author, “Patent Essentials for Business Attorneys: From Patent to Profit,” Wisconsin Bar Association's Business Law Newsletter, January 2005.
- Presenter, “Patent Protection for Structural Genomics-related Inventions,” 3rd International Conference on Structural Genomics (ICSG 2004), Washington, DC, November 17, 2004.
- Author, “Patent Essentials for Business Owners: From Patent to Profit,” Wisconsin Technology Network, November 2, 2004.
- Presenter, Workshop on “Exploring Patenting and Licensing Policy for Proteomics,” The National Academy of Sciences Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in Genomics and Protein Research and Innovation, Washington, DC, June 4, 2004.
- Presenter/Published Outline, “What Every Business Lawyer Should Know About Patents?,” Annual Convention of Wisconsin State Bar-Business Section, 1:237-251, May 2004.
- Author, “Patent Protection for Structural Genomics–Related Inventions,” The Journal of Structural and Functional Genomics 4 (2-3): 191-209, 2003.
- Reviewer, Intellectual Property manuscripts for The Journal of Structural and Functional Genomics from the 2nd International Conference on Structural Genomics, Winter 2002.
- Panelist, Served on the “Intellectual Property Task Force on Structural Genomics” at the International Structural Genomics Organization (ISGO) Conference, Berlin, Germany, October 10, 2002.
- Author, “Modernization of § 103 Nonobviousness: Protection of Biomedical Research from the Big Chill,” 4 Marq. Intell. Prop. L. Rev. 143, 2000.
- Author, “A Higher Nonobviousness Standard for Gene Patents: Protecting Biomedical Research from the Big Chill,” 4 Marq. Intell. Prop. L. Rev. 143 (2000). *Cited in Donald S. Chisum, 2-5 Chisum on Patents §5.04.
- Co-author, “Analyses of glycosphingolipids using clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, ceramide glycanase,” Methods Enzymol. 312B, 196-205, 2000.
- Co-author, “Biosynthesis and Regulation of Glycosphingolipids, Comprehensive Natural Products Chemistry” (eds: D.H.R. Barton, K. Nagamishi, O.M., Cohen, Vol. 3 Carbohydrate Pegamon Press 1-22, 1998.
- Co-author, “Purification, Properties and Immunological Characterization of GalT-3 (UDP-Galactose:GM2 Ganglioside, ß1-3 Galactosyl-Transferase) from Embryonic Chicken Brain,” 12 Glycoconjugates J. 838, 1995.
- Co-author, “Analysis of Glycosphingolipids by Flurophore Assisted Carbohydrate Electrophoresis (FACE) Using Ceramide Glycanase (CGASE) from Mercenaria mercenaria (Hard Shelled Clam),” 222 Anal. Biochem. 270, 1994.
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