Murray Spruill is chair of Alston & Bird’s Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Patent Group. His intellectual property law practice focuses on providing services relating to all areas of patent law, including patent drafting and prosecution, general patent counseling and strategic planning, patentability, freedom to operate, infringement opinions, and licensing. His clients include large corporations, mid-sized companies, small start-ups, universities, and research institutions.
Dr. Spruill’s scientific expertise includes genetics, cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmaceuticals, and small molecule therapeutics. He has combined this scientific background with extensive legal expertise to provide high quality services for his clients.
He is a frequent author and speaker on topics dealing with biotechnology and pharmaceutical patent law. He is lead author or co-author on over 25 publications such as Nature Biotechnology, Current Drug Discovery, Legal Times, The Scientist, BNA’s Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal, and Stanford Technology Law Review. He has spoken to numerous professional organizations and institutions, most recently to attendees of the 2003 and 2004 annual meetings of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). At those meetings he co-chaired and moderated panels on patent legislation that included members of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee. In particular, the BIO 2003 panel he co-chaired was selected for a special program on Capitol Hill for members of Congress and their staff.
Murray Spruill is chair of Alston & Bird’s Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Patent Group. His intellectual property law practice focuses on providing services relating to all areas of patent law, including patent drafting and prosecution, general patent counseling and strategic planning, patentability, freedom to operate, infringement opinions, and licensing. His clients include large corporations, mid-sized companies, small start-ups, universities, and research institutions.
Dr. Spruill’s scientific expertise includes genetics, cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmaceuticals, and small molecule therapeutics. He has combined this scientific background with extensive legal expertise to provide high quality services for his clients.
He is a frequent author and speaker on topics dealing with biotechnology and pharmaceutical patent law. He is lead author or co-author on over 25 publications such as Nature Biotechnology, Current Drug Discovery, Legal Times, The Scientist, BNA’s Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal, and Stanford Technology Law Review. He has spoken to numerous professional organizations and institutions, most recently to attendees of the 2003 and 2004 annual meetings of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). At those meetings he co-chaired and moderated panels on patent legislation that included members of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee. In particular, the BIO 2003 panel he co-chaired was selected for a special program on Capitol Hill for members of Congress and their staff.
Murray is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Intellectual Property and Biotechnology Law. He is also listed in Super Lawyers magazine and North Carolina’s Legal Elite for intellectual property, patents.
Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Dr. Spruill served as senior attorney for Ciba-Geigy Corporation where he was responsible for the supervision and management of the patent portfolio and intellectual property strategy for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical areas. While at Ciba-Geigy, he worked for a period of time in their European Office in Basel, Switzerland overseeing patent matters before the European Patent Office. In addition to his in-house experience, Dr. Spruill has practiced with private firms in Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto, CA, and served as a patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Dr. Spruill earned his J.D. degree in 1992 from George Washington University. He earned his Ph.D. in genetics/molecular biology from North Carolina State University and his B.S. degree in biology from East Carolina University. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Counsel to leading pharmaceutical companies, providing intellectual property strategy and freedom to operate opinions for their developing products.
• Counsel to a world leading seed company, developing patent portfolios around genetically modified products.
• Aiding biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients in securing financing ranging from $20 million to $50 million by developing their patent portfolios and intellectual property strategies and by responding to due diligence requests from investors.
• Successfully representing clients in interference proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Performing due diligence analysis for pharmaceutical and agricultural companies for products in different stages of development.
• Successfully opposing issued European patents.