Dr. William Kezer is Co-Chair of Kilpatrick Townsend's Chemistry & Biotechnology Practice Group. Dr. Kezer advises clients in all aspects of patent prosecution, with an emphasis on chemistry, particularly pharmaceutical products and targets, as well as other small molecules (e.g., dyes, probes and binding agents). He has worked extensively in the strategic development of patent portfolios and has provided due diligence reviews of targeted companies and technology. Comparative evaluation of competitive patented technologies for our clients is yet another aspect of Dr. Kezer's practice.

Dr. Kezer's practice also focuses on procuring global patent protection for pharmaceutical inventions and providing strategies for product protection that include formulations, drug delivery technologies and dosing methods.

Dr. Kezer is currently the Chairman for the AIPLA Chemical Practice Committee, and has previously served as in-house Patent Counsel for Tularik Inc. (now part of Amgen, Inc.), a company involved in the discovery of compounds for the regulation of gene expression. His experience in the corporate setting has been useful for providing a business-based, product-driven approach to patent portfolio construction.

Prior to entering the practice of law, Dr. Kezer served as a Senior Research Scientist and Project Leader for FMC Corporation and Dow Chemical Company/DowElanco. His research experience involved the design and synthesis of small molecule regulators of biological processes. Dr. Kezer's doctoral thesis was directed to the design and synthesis of transition-state analogs as inhibitors of peptidases, under the direction of Professor Paul A. Bartlett at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Kezer was named a top patent practitioner in 2013 by IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners.

Education

  • Golden Gate University School of Law, J.D. (1993)
  • University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., Organic Chemistry (1983)
  • Humboldt State University, B.S., Chemistry (1978)

Bar Admissions

  • California

Admissions

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

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