Brian C. Trinque, Ph.D.

Brian Trinque has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry and focuses his practice on patent law in the pharmaceutical and chemical arts. He has worked with many clients on developing and managing patent portfolios focusing on all aspects of pharmaceutical development, including initial filings on novel chemical entities, as well as secondary filings directed toward salt forms, prodrugs, polymorph crystal forms, metabolites, formulations, administration routes, combination therapies, dosages, etc. Brian also has experience in biotechnological areas, such as viral delivery technologies, including lentiviral and AAV delivery technologies, and gene therapy technologies, including gene replacement and gene editing technologies. He also has experience with technologies outside of the pharmaceutical arts, including process chemistry, polymer and material chemistry, electronic displays, fuel cell technology, biofuels, nutraceuticals, and food products. His clients range from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and universities, and he has built a number of patent portfolios for start-up companies that were acquired by larger pharmaceutical companies.

Brian leads the firm’s Chemical and Pharmaceutical Patent Prosecution Practice. He was elected to the firm's Executive Committee in 2018, and is also the Partner in Charge of the Lathrop GPM Boston office.

Brian has written frequently on patent law, and regularly lectures on recent decisions on life science patent cases from the Federal Circuit.  

Brian's notable experience includes:

• Prosecuting a number of patent portfolios that cover small molecule drug compounds having world-wide approval in the areas of oncology, neurological diseases, and muscle diseases.
• Prosecuting families of patent applications directed toward various small-molecule drug candidates in clinical development. 
• Preparing and managing U.S. and international patent portfolios in a variety of technical areas, including small molecules, biologics, synthetic methods, drug delivery compositions, polymers, materials science, and medical devices. 
• Preparing patentability, freedom to operate, and invalidity patent opinions. 
• Assisting with due diligences related to acquisitions and licenses on behalf of acquirers. 

• Speaker, "Update: Comparative Overview of U.S. Practice" and "Case Study Based Panel Discussion on Differences Between Canadian, U.S. and European Patent Law," Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, McGill University, 2017
• Panelist, "Claim Breadth, Support, Sufficiency - World-Wide Perspective," IPTA Annual Conference, Crown Perth, Western Australia, April 26-29, 2017
• Panelist, "Patent Infringement in China, USA and UK - Comparing Costs, Procedures and Outcomes," IPTA Annual Conference, Crown Perth, Western Australia, April 26-29, 2017
• Speaker, "Comparative Overview of U.S. Practice" and "Case Study Based Panel Discussion on Differences Between Canadian, U.S. and European Patent Law," Intellectual Property Institute of Canada, McGill University, July 19, 2016
• Speaker, "Pharmaceutical Patent Prosecution Primer and Small Molecule Obviousness," The 35th National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium, Chicago, IL, June 29, 2016
• Speaker, "Obviousness, the CAFC, and Second Generation Filing Strategies," Practising Law Institute, April 1, 2016
• Speaker, "Pharmaceutical Patent Prosecution Primer," American Chemical Society National Meeting, August 18, 2015
• Speaker, "The Small-Molecule Legal Landscape: A Path to a Successful Patent Strategy," CoSMoS 2015 Technical Program and Conference Agenda, August 17, 2015
• Speaker, "Comparative Overview of U.S. Practice," IPIC/McGill Patent Course, July 21, 2015
• "Combination Therapies, Pharma Claiming Strategies, and the CAFC," Practising Law Institute, October 16, 2013
• Panelist, "Technology and Processes to Support In-House Prosecution Practice," BPLA Corporate (In-House) Committee, June 12, 2013
• "Chemical Practitioners' Guide to Small Molecule Federal Circuit Case Law," Practising Law Institute, March 2012
• "Small Molecules, Second Generation Patents, and the CAFC," Memphis Section of the American Chemical Society, October 2011
• "An Introduction to Pharmaceutical Patent Law," Ole Miss Local Section of the American Chemical Society, October 2011
• "A Survey of Recent Federal Circuit Pharma Decisions," Suffolk University Law School, April 2011
• "Nonobviousness of Chemical Inventions," 240th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition, August 2010
• "The Patenting Process: From Invention Disclosure to Patent," April 2010
• "Finite Numbers: Identifying Trends in Recent CAFC Pharma Decisions," February 2010
• "Small Molecule Obviousness: Pre-KSR, Post-KSR, and Looking Ahead," January 2010 and November 2009 

• Co-author, A Definiteness Reminder for Pharmaceutical Patent Drafters, Law360, January 16, 2018
• Co-author, 2013 Provided Few Small-Molecule Decisions, Law360, January 7, 2014
• Co-author, What Every General Counsel Needs to Know About the America Invents Act, BPLA Newsletter, Fall 2012
• Co-author, Game Changer: The America Invents Act, ACC Docket, September 2012
• Co-author, An ‘Obvious’ Ruling in Abilify Composition Patent Case, Law360, May 22, 2012
• Co-author, Pharmaceutical Innovation and the Use of the Lead Compound Analysis, Intellectual Property Today, Dec. 2011
• Co-author, Standing Up to Scrutiny: Federal Circuit decisions show 2nd generation drug patents can withstand allegations of non-obviousness, InsideCounsel, Sept. 29, 2011
• Contributor to numerous research articles, including articles published in Science, Macromolecules, and the Journal of Fluorine Chemistry.

• Selected among Managing Intellectual Property magazine’s “IP Stars” for United States (National) Patent Law, 2022
• Selected among Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s “Go To Lawyers” for Intellectual Property, 2021
• Selected among Managing Intellectual Property magazine’s “IP Stars,” 2015, 2019
• Selected for Massachusetts Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” - 2011, 2012, 2016-2019
• Selected among National Law Journal and Connecticut Law Tribune's "Rising Stars" in Boston, 2015