American Conference Institute (ACI) will be holding its 13th Advanced Forum on Biotech Patents on November 30 to December 1, 2011 in Boston, MA.  The conference will allow attendees to:

• Analyze the biosimilar approval pathway development process and get insight on the likely FDA regulations covering biosimilars;
• Assess the impact patent reform is expected to have on biotech patenting for both companies and practitioners;
• Determine the implications of the CAFA's Myriad decision and how it affects 35 U.S.C. § 101 subject matter definitions;
• Investigate the effects of the recent Supreme Court decisions in Stanford v. Roche and Microsoft v. i4i;
• Implement tools to navigate the 35 U.S.C. § 112 written description requirement in a post-Centocor environment;
• Utilize techniques to manage obvious-type double patenting concerns following Sun v. Lilly and Amgen v. Roche and discover its uses as a litigation tool;
• Defend yourself from claims of inequitable conduct with the new standards elucidated in Therasense;
• Ascertain the difficulties in claiming joint infringement following McKesson and Akamai; and
• Employ winning strategies to navigate international filing issues in Europe and emerging markets.

In particular, ACI's faculty will offer presentations on the following topics:

• Protection v. Exploitation:  Preparing for the Next Chapter in the Development of Biosimilars;
• Examining the Potential Effect of Patent Reform on PTO Practices and Its Impact on Biotech Patents — keynote by Teresa Rea, Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office;
• Preparing for A Radical Overhaul of the U.S. Patent System: The Impact of Reform on Biotech Patent Strategies;
• Examining 35 U.S.C. 101 Subject Matter Patentability in the Wake of Myriad and Prometheus;
• Microsoft v. i4i and Stanford v. Roche: Understanding Their Collective Implications for the Biotechnology Industry;
• Confronting the Written Description Requirement Post-Centocor and Evaluating Its Impact on Biotech Patent Practices;
• The Emergence of the New Obviousness Standard and Its Impact on Biotech Patenting: Taking a Closer Look at Obvious-Type Double Patenting — to be presented in part by Patent Docs author Kevin Noonan;
• Inequitable Conduct following Therasense: Assessing Its Significance for Biotech Patent Litigation;
• International Filing: Strategic Considerations and Advanced Tactics for Patenting Biotech Inventions Abroad;
• Analyzing and Resolving the Difficulties of Claiming Joint Infringement After Akamai and McKesson; and
• Creating Favorable Patent Tactics in Developing Countries.

An interactive working group session entitled: "Integrating Changes at the PTO into Biotech Patent Practices" will be offered from 8:30 to 11:30 am on November 30, 2011.  A post-conference master class entitled: "Successful and Practical Strategies for Patenting Antibodies" will be offered from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm on December 2, 2011.

The agenda for the Biotech Patents conference can be found here.  A complete brochure for this conference, including an agenda, detailed descriptions of conference sessions, list of speakers, and registration form can be obtained here.

The registration fee is $2,295 (conference alone), $2,895 (conference plus group session or master class), or $3,495 (conference, group session, and master class).  Those registering on or before September 30, 2011 will receive a $300 discount and those registering by October 28, 2011 will receive a $200 discount.  In addition, Patent Docs readers who reference the discount code "PD 200" will receive $200 off the current price tier when registering.  Those interested in registering for the conference can do so here, by calling 1-888-224-2480, or by faxing a registration form to 1-877-927-1563.

Patent Docs is a media partner of ACI's Biotech Patents conference.