Dianne Elderkin retired from the partnership in 2021. She represented clients in intellectual property (IP) disputes in federal courts, at the International Trade Commission (ITC) and at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Her focus was in the life science fields, especially the biotechnology area, including cases regarding genetic engineering and antibody technology.

Dianne led a team of lawyers that represented client Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ono Pharmaceutical Co. and Japanese immunologist Dr. Tasuku Honjo in patent litigation involving revolutionary immuno-oncology treatment methods. The team’s work contributed to a worldwide settlement that included an initial payment by defendant Merck & Co., Inc. of $625 million and payment of ongoing royalties through 2026.

She served as lead of a legal team who won a jury verdict for clients Centocor Ortho Biotech, Inc. and New York University in a patent infringement suit against Abbott Laboratories for its flagship product, Humira®. The jury returned a verdict that her clients’ patent was infringed and not invalid, and awarded damages of $1.67 billion, reported by Bloomberg to be the largest jury verdict in U.S. history at the time in a patent case. 

In addition, Dianne led a team of lawyers who won a jury verdict for client Janssen Biotech Inc. in a patent infringement suit brought by Abbott GMBH & Co. The jury returned a verdict that claims in two patents asserted by Abbott against Janssen’s antibody drug product, Stelara®, were invalid, and Federal Circuit Court affirmed that decision. Dianne and her team were also at the forefront of litigation under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA), that represented client Janssen Biotech, Inc. in several litigations involving biosimilar challenges to Janssen’s blockbuster drug Remicade®.