Amy E. Purcell, PhD

Profile

Amy Purcell's practice focuses on biotechnology and pharmaceuticals and encompasses a variety of disciplines including litigation, prosecution, and opinion work. Dr. Purcell has participated in patent litigation in all federal court levels including district and appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to her litigation practice, Dr. Purcell has extensive experience in writing and prosecuting patent applications in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and has assisted in obtaining foreign patent applications corresponding to United States applications. Dr. Purcell's knowledge about numerous scientific fields, including biochemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and neurobiology has made a significant technical contribution to her practice.

Before starting VIVICAR Law's intellectual property group in 2012, Dr. Purcell was active in several major patent infringement litigations at her prior firm, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP. Dr. Purcell defended challenges to pharmaceutical patents under the Hatch-Waxman Act, including patents on Eli Lilly and Company's Zyprexa® and Evista® pharmaceuticals. She also worked in the legal department of Human Genome Sciences, Inc., where she was involved in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the areas of pharmaceuticals and antibody technology. Dr. Purcell's graduate research focused on examining gene expression in the postmortem brain of patients with autism using cDNA microarrays.

Professional Recognition

Awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship for graduate research, 1996-2000.

Professional Activities

• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Society of Neuroscience
• American Association for the Advancement of Science

Select Publications

“Postmortem Brain Abnormalities of the Glutamate Neurotransmitter System in Autism,” Neurology, 2001 (coauthor).

“The Abnormal Regulation of Gene Expression in Autistic Brain Tissue,” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2001 (coauthor).

“Assessment of Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM) in Autistic Serum and Postmortem Brain,” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2001 (coauthor).

“High Throughput Analysis of Gene Expression in Human Brain,” Journal of Neuroscience Research, 2000 (coauthor).