Courtney M. Prochnow, Ph.D.

Dr. Courtney Prochnow focuses her practice on biotechnology. Courtney has represented clients in patent litigation cases in district court, and inter partes review, reexamination, and interference proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She has assisted clients in a variety of technological areas including antibody therapeutics, genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas systems), chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, small molecule and nucleic acid therapeutics, vaccines, recombinant proteins, genetic diagnostic methods, and chemical synthesis. Representative clients include start-up companies, private and public research institutions, biotech companies, and large pharmaceutical companies.

Courtney was trained as a structure biologist. She has scientific experience in a wide range of fields, including x-ray crystallography, drug discovery, DNA mutagenesis, biochemistry, virology, and cell biology. Her technical experience includes molecular techniques such as recombinant protein purification, cloning, cell culture, biochemical assays, and high-throughput compound screening.

For her dissertation research at the University of Southern California, Courtney solved the first x-ray crystal structure of a member of the apolipoprotein B messenger RNA-editing enzyme catalytic (APOBEC) polypeptides family of enzymes, which are involved in viral restriction and antibody diversification. Her post-doctoral research involved designing small molecules to disrupt the APOBEC3G/VIF (Viral Infectivity Factor) interaction for HIV therapy using structure-based drug design. She also performed a structural analysis of the antiviral APOBEC3G cytidine deaminase to determine its functional properties. Courtney has eight peer-reviewed publications, including two first author publications in Nature.

Courtney is a writer for Life Science Legal Report, the firm's blog focused on patent decisions and developments affecting the life sciences industry.