Chris Nicole Davis, Ph.D.

Chris assists clients, ranging from solo inventors to universities to international corporations, with obtaining patent protection for their inventions and strengthening their portfolios. She creates prosecution strategies for utility and design patents, and helps clients assess validity, freedom to operate, and the patentability of their own and competitors’ patent portfolios.

Chris offers deep experience in the health, life, and agricultural sectors. She manages the prosecution of patent portfolios in areas that include immunotherapies, gene editing, pharmaceutical formulations, genetically modified plants and seeds, and enzyme and other large-molecule technology.

After receiving her Ph.D. in biology and biomedical science from Emory University, Chris pursued intellectual property coursework at the University of North Carolina School of Law, and participated in an externship at the University of North Carolina’s Office of Technology Development.

In her pro bono work, Chris assists veterans with the preparation of wills, financial powers of attorney, and other estate planning documents.

• Helps clients that are acquiring other companies to understand and evaluate each target’s patent portfolio, including legal status, claim scope and patent term.
• Managed an international patent portfolio for treating cancer for a university.
• Prepared and filed patent applications for universities and research institutions in diverse fields including treatment of cancer and other diseases, novel antibodies, CAR-T therapies, and gene editing.
• Assisted a global seed company with managing its U.S. patent portfolio.
• Drafted patent applications and managed U.S. patent prosecution for a global life sciences company directed to novel antibodies and methods of improving bispecific antibodies, methods of treating cancer, and methods of producing induced pluripotent stem cells
• Counseled global consumer products companies on design patent strategies and managed U.S. design patent portfolios.
• Conducted due diligence for a major pharmaceutical company’s acquisition of a portfolio of patents directed to novel heterodimeric antibodies and methods of treatment.
• Reviewed and evaluated a target company’s gene editing patents to guide investment decisions for a venture capital company.
• Prepared noninfringement and invalidity opinions in biotech and genetically modified plant technologies.

• Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch: Intellectual Property Law (2022-2025), Litigation – Intellectual Property (2022-2025)