The law firm of Miller Canfield announces that Weisun Rao, Ph.D., an intellectual property attorney and a principal in the firm’s Shanghai and Chicago offices, recently spoke at the BioProcess International Conference in Beijing, China. He discussed the bills recently introduced in the U.S. Congress on biosimilars (also known as follow-on biologics) and offered his view on the outlook for biopharmaceutical companies in view of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (also known as the Hatch-Waxman Act).

The Hatch-Waxman Act has been a huge success in lowering drug prices by allowing earlier entry of generic drugs while still giving innovators sufficient incentives.  In the past several years, there has been a strong push in the U.S. for a biologics version of this law in order to make biologic drugs more affordable.  The support has intensified in the midst of Obama's initiative for healthcare reform.  What can we expect from the bills recently introduced in the U.S. on biosimilars and what opportunities may a law provide for biopharmaceutical companies in view of the Hatch-Waxman Act?

Dr. Weisun Rao primarily practices intellectual property (IP) law with a focus on patent or technology-related matters in the U.S. and China.  He is adept at identifying IP assets, developing IP strategies and managing IP portfolios that position his clients to take advantage of both legal and business opportunities. He received his J.D. from The Ohio State University College of Law, his Ph.D. from the University of Akron and B.Sc. from Jilin University, both in chemistry.

Miller Canfield’s lawyers and patent agents advise and represent global businesses, entrepreneurs, individual inventors, start-up enterprises and academic institutions in obtaining, enforcing, and licensing intellectual property in the world.