Shawn P. Foley

Counsel
Shawn advises pharmaceutical and life sciences companies on intellectual property matters.
Shawn Foley

Shawn focuses his practice primarily on advising clients in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, with emphasis on due diligence and freedom to operate. Shawn has been heavily involved with many cutting-edge technologies, such as therapeutic nucleic acids (mRNAs, RNA replicons, circular RNAs, and siRNA), lipid-based delivery systems (LNPs and liposomes), adoptive cell therapies such as CAR-Ts; therapeutic peptides and monoclonal antibodies.  Shawn also counsels his clients on developing and implementing global strategies for preparing and prosecuting patent applications in these same fields, as well as small molecule inhibitors, bifunctional degraders (PROTACs), and antibody-drug conjugates; cardiovascular drugs; personal care compositions; and fuel-based compositions, as well as diagnostic assays (e.g., detection of COVID-19, cell-free nucleic acid, and T cell activation).

Shawn represents entrepreneurs, startups, not-for-profit research institutions and universities, and large pharma alike, both from the branded and generic sides. He has extensive experience guiding clients through patent appeals, post-grant matters such as reissue, and European oppositions.

Shawn began his career as an examiner with the US Patent and Trademark Office, where he reviewed patent applications during the emergence of the biotechnology field and learned of the intricate nature of the patent-granting system. Following a brief stint with a Southeastern-based IP firm, Shawn moved in-house with an international pharma company. As co-IP counsel at one of the company’s research institutes, Shawn advised on-site scientists and management regarding genetically engineered plants and seeds and worked with IP colleagues in other locations throughout the company regarding its pharma research and development. He then moved back to private practice, where he was instrumental in developing a life sciences practice at a New Jersey-based IP firm.

Prior to joining ArentFox Schiff, Shawn was a partner and co-chair of the Life Science group at a mid-sized law firm in Boston, MA.

Publications, Presentations & Recognitions

Presentations

  • “IP Considerations for Startups,” Speaker, RESI Conference, September 2023
  • “IP Considerations for Startups – Navigating to Success,” Speaker, RESI Conference, March 2023
  • “Startups – Tips for Navigating your Company to Success,” Speaker, The Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network, Annual Meeting, December 2019
  • “CAR T – A Chronological Survey – From Whence it Came, Alternative Patenting Strategies, and Distinctions between Patentability and Commercialization,” Speaker, CAR-TCR Summit 2019, Boston, September 2019
  • “CAR T – A Chronological Survey – From Whence it Came, Alternative Patenting Strategies, and Distinctions between Patentability and Commercialization,” Speaker, CAR-TCR Summit Asia, June 2019 (Nominated for Top Speaker)
  • “Prolific Principal Investigators,” Moderator, Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day, June 2019
  • “Startups – Tips for Navigating your Company to Success,” Speaker, The Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network, Annual Meeting, December 2018
  • “CAR-TCR Commercialization Track,” Moderator, CAR-TCR Summit 2018, September 2018
  • “IP and Licensing: Navigating the Landscape,” Speaker, CAR-TCR Summit 2018, September 2018
  • “Start-up Companies Pitch,” Moderator, Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day, May 2018
  • “IP and Licensing: Navigating the Landscape,” Speaker, 8th Annual World Bispecific Summit, September 2017
  • “IP and Licensing: Navigating the Landscape,” Speaker, CAR-TCR Summit 2017, September 2017
  • “Looking Back – Entrepreneurial Voyages by Prior MALSI Inventors,” Moderator, Massachusetts Life Sciences Innovation Day, June 2017

Recognitions

  • Go To Intellectual Property Lawyer, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2023)
  • IAM Patent 1000 – World’s Leading Patent Prosecution Professionals (2015)
  • Chambers USA, Intellectual Property Law (2011)

Life Beyond the Law

Outside of work, Shawn enjoys tennis, weightlifting, swimming, leaf peeping in New England, art, and music. He is also a contributor to the ASPCA. His love of fall colors and animals has seemed to influence his daughter, who has moved back to the Northeast, where she practices veterinary surgery.

Perspectives