Dr. Kezer is chair of Townsend's Chemistry & Biotechnology Practice Group. He 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). Dr. Kezer 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 has 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.
Representative Clients
ChemoCentryx, Inc.
Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Regents of the University of California