RF EMerge

A Resource for Innovators

Subscribe
Visit Blog
By: Rothwell Figg

Blog Authors

Eric D. Blatt
Aydin H. Harston
Dylan Haversack
Jennifer B. Maisel
Davide F. Schiavetti
Dan Shores
Andrew J. Storaska
Anjali Jenna (AJ) Teigen
Caitlin Wilmot
Xiaoban Xin

Latest from RF EMerge

http domain concept background, flat style
In today’s world, e-commerce and online visibility are sine qua non for success. Businesses are willing to invest considerable sums to boost their online presence and maximize sales. Because of this digitalization of business, domain names acquired incredible value. And where there is value there is opportunity for profit. Trying to reap the benefits of this opportunity are several hundred entities engaging in what is generally called “domain name warehousing”. Among them are, for example,…
Location Pin Nevigation Icons on World Map Polygon Graphic Background with Connected Lines
Patent protection outside the U.S. can be important for a company to enter the global market and to build relationships with partners and investors both domestically and internationally.  In general, there are two options to file a patent application outside the U.S.: (1) file a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application and then enter the national phase of countries of interest; and (2) file a patent application directly in a foreign jurisdiction.  For both options, the…
Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of the now-defunct blood-testing technology company Theranos, recently learned a harsh lesson on the complexities and pitfalls of attorney-client privilege.  As a result of a June 3, 2021 ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, critical communications between Holmes and Boies Schiller—Theranos’ counsel from 2011 to 2016—may be admissible at her federal criminal trial in late August on fraud and conspiracy charges. The ruling serves as…
On April 29, 2021, Mountain View, California-based startup Ceribell, Inc. announced the completion of a $53 million Series C financing, co-led by Longitude Capital and The Rise Fund. Other new investors include RA Capital Management, Redmile Group and Red Tree Venture Capital, with additional support from existing shareholders. Ceribell, Inc. is the innovator of the Rapid Response EEG™, a novel non-invasive brain monitor designed to address the need for faster diagnosis in patients with suspicion…
In Part I of this series providing a summary of the mRNA IP and competitive landscape through one year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we focused on market players BioNTech, Moderna and CureVac; in Part II, we discussed Translate BIO, Arcturus, and eTheRNA (and other startups) and provided background on activity relating to certain Arbutus lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology. Here, in our final post, we provide an analysis of the current landscape and offer conclusions.…
Capsida Biotherapeutics Inc.—a  Thousand Oaks, CA-based emerging biotechnology company—recently emerged from stealth mode with $ 140 million in start-up capital. Capsida secured a $50 million Series A commitment from Versant Ventures and Westlake Village BioPartners, and a multi-year strategic collaboration and option agreement with AbbVie that provides $90 million in up front and equity investment capital in addition to potential future option, development, and commercial milestone payments. Capsida is using an adeno-associated virus (AAV)…
In Part I of this three-part series, we focused on three mRNA technology market players: BioNTech, Moderna and CureVac. In this second post, we will focus on Translate BIO, Arcturus Therapeutics, and eTheRNA and discuss certain issues relating to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology. More mRNA Market Players Translate Bio Translate Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBIO) is headquartered in Lexington, MA, and as of April 2021, has a market capitalization of over $1.3…
The Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling in Google v. Oracle ended a decade-long legal battle between the tech giants, finding that Google’s copying of over 11,000 lines of Oracle’s Sun Java application programming interface (“API”) code was permissible fair use under copyright law. This ruling means that Google won’t have to pay billions of dollars in damages to Oracle. It also has huge implications for the broader software and tech industries. While the Supreme Court…
Calendar deadline or event reminder notification
A patent gives the patent holder the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing an invention covered by the patent.  However, the right only lasts for a limited period of time and will disappear upon the expiration of the patent.  After the patent expires, the invention will fall into the public domain. For a patent holder, as well as its partners and competitors, understanding how long a patent’s life…
Shortly after we posted about Moderna, Inc.’s October 2020 pledge not to enforce its COVID-19-related patents during the pandemic, the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency regulatory approval for two COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna and BioNTech (with Pfizer), making these groups the first to ever enter the commercial market with mRNA-based therapies. This little-known and never-before-approved mRNA technology has since been widely administered and represents a primary weapon being used to…