Kaufmann, Gene M.

Dr. Darren Kassab's focus within the intellectual property practice at Jones Day is on drafting and prosecuting patent applications primarily within the life sciences. He has assisted with patentability, infringement and noninfringement, patent portfolio strategy and management, and freedom-to-operate and clearance opinions.

As a result of his academic, research, and legal experience, Darren has been exposed to a wide variety of technologies that include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health care, small molecule drug discovery, drug delivery, biochemical assays, combination therapies, adjuvants, in vivo and in vitro models, crystallographic modeling of proteins, disease biomarkers, a wide array of chemistries (such as synthetic organic, medicinal, polymer, inorganic, organometallic, sugar, polyamine, peptide, and combinatorial chemistry), pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, structure-based drug design, surfactants, petroleum products and lubricating oil formulations, material science, and additives.

Prior to joining Jones Day, Darren worked for nearly 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Upon completing his Ph.D., Darren conducted research as a discovery medicinal chemist at Pfizer (formerly known as Pharmacia Inc., which was previously Searle, the pharmaceutical division of Monsanto Company). During this time, Darren's hypothesis-driven discovery efforts focused on the design and synthesis of unique small molecules, targeting potency, selectivity, efficacy, safety, as well as other pharmaceutical properties. Darren performed research in a variety of areas, including inhibition of enzymes, protein- and lipid-kinases and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), blockade of ion-channels, and nuclear hormone receptors. Darren also worked in numerous therapeutic areas, including inflammation, cancer, and cardiovascular. Notably, Darren was a member of a project team that discovered and developed a drug candidate for the treatment of post-myocardial infarction, which successfully completed Phase I clinical trials.

Under the guidance of Professor Bruce Ganem at Cornell University, Darren completed his doctoral thesis on stereoselective synthesis. Darren's synthetic work also further developed Professor Eric N. Jacobsen's methodology of asymmetric ring opening azidolysis of meso-epoxides. Darren is coauthor of several peer-reviewed scientific publications and a co-inventor of multiple patents focused in the field of small molecule drug discovery.