Orrick Herrington & Sutfcliffe has hired patent prosecution lawyer Gargi Talukder from Morgan Lewis as it seeks to further expand its life sciences practice.

Talukder joins as a partner in San Francisco – the eighth partner to join Orrick’s life sciences team since 2019 – bringing with her expertise in global patent portfolio management, IP diligence and patent prosecution. She also has a PhD in neuroscience and collaborates with scientific leads and senior management at major biotech and pharma companies to develop patent procurement and product clearance, specialising in biologics such as genome sequencing and antibody and cell therapies.

Matthew Gemello, head of Orrick’s global corporate practice, said: “Adding top-notch patent prosecution expertise is the next step in the ongoing development of our life sciences offering... Our clients’ innovation continues to outpace regulation and Gargi’s market-leading expertise will be a game-changer for these innovative businesses.”

In a blog posted in January, Deloitte's US life sciences leader, Mike Delone, predicted a bumper hear for the sector pointing to the likelihood of scientific breakthroughs fuelled by "advancements in manufacturing, testing, logistics, digital supply chains, and virtual clinical trials" during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Talukder spent around 15 years at Morgan Lewis, becoming a partner in 2014 and most recently heading its San Francisco IP practice.

She said she was attracted to Orrick's "holistic" life sciences service offering.”

In addition to her patent prosecution experience, Talukder also advised on other IP matters such as collaboration deals, licenses and M&A diligence. She also helps litigation teams analyse patent and science-related issues in complex, high-stakes trials.

Her arrival follows the hiring of life sciences expert and capital markets lawyer David Schulman in Washington from Dechert in January. The firm also added life sciences licensing lawyer Shana Solomon in Boston from biotech startup Velocity Sciences in September last year, where she was general counsel.

Other US firms have also been increasing their focus on the life sciences sector. In October, Goodwin Procter hired licensing partner Adam Bellack from Hogan Lovells, where he was co-head of the firm’s life sciences transaction team covering the Americas.