Experience

Kevin directs the multi-disciplinary patent prosecution group.  In this role he is involved strategically in the formulation of claims, development of applications and client counseling.  His practice also includes due diligence analysis in connection with financing, merger and acquisition activity, as well as the preparation of opinions relating to patents and patent applications.

Kevin’s historical practice dates back to the late 1980’s with an emphasis on biotechnology-related inventions. He represents some of the nation’s leading academic institutions, as well as corporate clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. He has written and prosecuted hundreds of patent applications directed toward products and methods grounded in biotechnology, and brings to his legal practice hands-on experience in recombinant DNA techniques, such as nucleic acid cloning, and experience gained in technical positions at both Harvard Medical School and Repligen Corporation.

Kevin was the founding principal of Farrell & Associates, P.C. in 1993. Previously, he practiced as a patent attorney with a Massachusetts-based patent law firm recognized for its expertise in biotechnology. In 1991, as founding Chairman, Kevin established the Biotechnology Committee of the Boston Patent Law Association.

As a research assistant at Repligen Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Kevin employed molecular biological techniques to alter the structure of a bacterial protein that is toxic to certain classes of insects. Altered proteins were identified which exhibited enhanced toxicity relative to the naturally occurring protein (see Rusche, J., Farrell, K.M., Jellis, C.L., Hodgdon, J., and Witt, D., Molecular biology of Bacillus thuringiensis and potential benefits to agriculture, Israel Journal of Entomology 23: 189-199 (1989)).

As a research assistant at Harvard Medical School, Kevin determined the cDNA sequence encoding the cyclin protein which is involved in the control of the cell cycle (see Swenson, K.I., Farrell, K.M., and Ruderman, J.V., The clam embryo protein cyclin A induces entry into M phase and the resumption of meiosis in Xenopus oocytes, Cell 47: 861-870 (1986)).  Kevin was also enrolled in graduate courses at Harvard Medical School while employed as a research assistant.

Professional Activities

In 2007 Kevin was named Adjunct Professor at the Franklin Pierce Law Center, joining a highly respected faculty in a nationally-ranked intellectual property program.  In the Fall 2007 semester Kevin was the instructor in an offereing entitled "Law and Biotechnology".  In addition to patent-related issues, the course addressed a wide range of topics including FDA regulation, R&D collaboration, securities issues, privacy and reimbursement.

A popular panelist and lecturer, Kevin’s presentations include "Research Tools: Selected Topics in Enforcement" for the Annual Meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) (both 2003 Orlando and 2004 San Antonio meetings); "Understanding Liability Clauses for the AUTM 2005 Annual Meeting;" “Human Genome Discoveries: Emerging Issues in Patent Law and Human Genetics” for Bowdoin College and the Foundation for Blood Research and sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Symposia on Human Genetics and Bioethics (2002); “Protein and Gene Discoveries: Revolutionary Drugs, Controversial Patents” at the Bio-Innovation Conference sponsored by Technology Law Center at the University of Maine Law School (2002); “Patent Claims” at the annual meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers in Charleston, South Carolina (1996); and “Patent Claim Drafting” at the Association of University Technology Managers, Basic Licensing Course, Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (1995).

Kevin is a member of the Boston Patent Law Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association and Licensing Executives Society, and an affiliated member of the Association of University Technology Managers.  He is a Past-President of the Biotechnology Association of Maine and has served on the Board of Directors of the New Hampshire Biotechnology Council.