The need
Attorneys from an Am Law 100 firm representing a global pharmaceutical company in its Hatch-Waxman infringement case against a company specializing in generics needed a bacterial microbiology expert to make their case. The patent in question was on a drug used as a sedative and anesthetic and the infringement was around a specific ingredient used to prevent bacterial growth to allow for longer storage of the drug. It was unlikely that the accused product used an identical ingredient, but likely that it used something similar enough to constitute infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. Therefore, the ideal expert would need to be able to speak with authority on how the specific ingredient worked to stop bacterial growth as well as discuss bacterial cell structures, bacterial cell wall disruption by antimicrobial agents and, as an added plus, antibacterial agents and how they work.