We offer the full range of IP services that are essential to the business of our clients.
The Synergy IP team of IP professionals offers you a unique combination of scientific and R&D expertise in the pharmaceutical, medical and biotechnology field paired with long-term IP experience gained in major private law firms as well as industrial in-house patent departments.
Founder | Managing Partner
European Patent Attorney | PhD in Pharmaceutics
Karsten is an IP expert and pharmaceutical scientist with a significant industrial background. He has more than 25 years of professional experience in new technology & product development and all related IP issues.
Industry background
In previous appointments, Karsten Cremer was Head of IP at Activaero GmbH (Gemünden, Germany); Director of Oral Drug Delivery at the largest German drug delivery company, LTS Lohmann Therapy Systems (Andernach, Germany); Chief Executive Officer of Capsulution NanoScience AG (Berlin, Germany), a nanotechnology company co-founded by the Max-Planck-Society; and Lecturer of Pharmaceutics at the University of Marburg.
IP expertise
Karsten’s distinctive competencies in the field of intellectual property include
Developing viable IP strategies aligned with business objectives
Analysing R&D outcome to identify patentable inventions
Drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications
Establishing freedom to operate for products and technologies
Challenging invalid patents
Defending challenged patents in oppositions or litigation
Performing IP due diligences
Technology expertise
In terms of science and technology, Karsten has worked extensively in the fields of pharmaceutical dosage forms (including oral, injectable, transdermal, transmucosal, inhalable, and ophthalmic formulations) and carrier systems for drug delivery (e.g. liposomes, nanocapsules and microparticles). He is experienced in technology and product development, technology assessment, life cycle management, and technology transfer.
Scientific and professional involvement
Karsten has contributed to the training of many candidate European patent attorneys (e.g. as a CEIPI tutor). He is also recognised for his activities in the International Association for Pharmaceutical Technology (APV) where he founded and chaired the Drug Delivery Focus Group, and in the Controlled Release Society (CRS) where he served as a member of the Board of Scientific Advisors and as President of the German Chapter.
In the leading Journal for the German pharmaceutical industry (pharmind – die pharmazeutische Industrie), Karsten publishes a monthly report on pharmaceutical innovations and patenting activities. Furthermore, he is author of about 190 patents and 20 book chapters, scientific publications and abstracts. He received several awards including the Silver Badge of Honour of the International Association for Pharmaceutical Technology (2014), the Julius-Redel-Prize (1993), and the Carlo Erba Prize in Oncology (1992).
Partner
US Patent Attorney & Attorney at Law | MSc in Biotechnology, BA in Chemistry
Natalie Albrecht is a U.S. Patent Attorney, registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and an Attorney at Law, registered to practice before the State Bar of Texas. Her educational background includes studies at Texas Tech University (Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Biochemistry), Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Master of Science in Biotechnology), and Texas Tech University School of Law (Juris Doctor in law). She has over 15 years of experience in Intellectual Property matters, having worked at various law firms in Texas and Germany before joining Synergy IP.
Natalie has a wide range of expertise in overseeing global patent portfolios, in particular streamlining US/EP prosecution and litigation, in the technology fields of enzymes, biotechnology and microbial compositions, laundry compositions, semiconductor devices, microcontrollers, medical devices, polymer chemistry, petrochemical compositions, biofuels, memory systems, and various tools in the oil and gas industry. Other areas of expertise include patent drafting and prosecution, patent portfolio analyses and strategy development, trademark prosecution, freedom to operate analyses, validity and infringement analyses, technology transfer, and patent licensing transactions.
Senior Associate
US Patent Attorney & Attorney at Law | BS in Mechanical Engineering
Colin Jamieson is registered as a U.S. Patent Attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and an Attorney at Law before the State Bar of Illinois. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor in law from DePaul University. Colin has over 10 years of experience in intellectual property matters having worked at an international law firm based in Germany before joining Synergy IP.
His areas of expertise in IP cover patent drafting and prosecution with a particular focus on developing global patent portfolios that are optimized for multiple jurisdictions, as well as experience in patent portfolio analyses and strategy development, freedom-to-operate analyses, validity and infringement analyses, and agreements related to intellectual property. Colin has experience in the technological fields of medical devices, software, materials science, mechatronics, electronic devices, semiconductor design and manufacture, MEMS devices, automotive sensors, LEDS, fuel cells, solar cells, cutting tools, and telecommunications.
Senior Associate
US and European Patent Attorney & Attorney at Law | PhD in Chemistry
Lily Ackerman is a U.S. Patent Attorney, registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office; a European Patent Attorney, registered to practice before the European Patent Office; and an Attorney at Law, registered to practice before the State Bar of California. Her educational background includes studies at Illinois State University (Bachelor of Science in chemistry), the California Institute of Technology (Ph.D. in chemistry), the University of Amsterdam (Post-Doctoral studies in chemistry), and the University of California Berkeley School of Law (Juris Doctor in law). She has over 15 years of experience in Intellectual Property matters, having worked at Morrison & Foerster LLP and Genentech, Inc. / F. Hoffmann-La Roche. Her areas of expertise include patent drafting and prosecution, patent portfolio analyses and strategy development, freedom to operate analyses, validity and infringement analyses, and patent licensing transactions.
Senior Associate
European Patent Attorney | PhD in Chemistry
Xiao Yin is a European Patent Attorney specialised in pharmaceutics, life sciences and chemistry. She received degrees in Biochemistry (B.S.) and Chemistry (B.A.) from the University of Rochester and completed her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property from Bournemouth University. Xiao Yin has been working with Synergy IP since 2011.
Senior Associate
European Patent Attorney | PhD in Chemistry
Alexander joined the team in 2016 after he had passed the European Qualification Examination. He is a European Patent attorney specialized in biochemistry. Alexander received his diploma and PhD in chemistry at the Philipps University of Marburg in the Group of Professor Marahiel. After a short Post-Doc period, he started his training as a European Patent Attorney. During his training, he focused on Life Sciences and Pharmaceutics. His main fields of expertise were sequencing technologies, pharmaceutical compositions and biomarkers. During his training, Alexander co-authored articles on the case law of second medical use claims, in particular relating to novel dosage regimens and specified patient groups, as well as the case law on second medical use of medical devices.
Senior Associate
European Patent Attorney | PhD in Pharmaceutics
Katrin is a European Patent attorney specialized in pharmaceutics. Prior to joining Synergy IP as a trainee in 2011, Katrin studied pharmacy at the Freie Universität Berlin and obtained a PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology from the same university in the working group of Prof. Bodmeier. She worked extensively in the field of controlled release dosage forms, including oral, injectable, transdermal and transmucosal dosage forms. In addition, Katrin is experienced in the fields of medical devices, processing technology and food chemistry.
Of Counsel
Attorney at Law | MSc in Chemistry
Barbara is an attorney-at-law admitted to the German courts. She received a degree in chemistry from the Technical University of Munich and studied law at the Ludwig- Maximilians-University of Munich to specialise in Intellectual Property. She has more than 20 years of professional experience in IP. Her main field is trademark law with a focus on the pharmaceutical field, and she regularly advises and represents clients on global trademark strategies.
Of Counsel
European and German Patent Attorney | PhD Chemistry
After studying chemistry at the Universities of Münster, Edinburgh, and Berkeley (graduating with a diploma in chemistry and a Ph.D. in solid state sciences), Christian started his career in intellectual property. Christian holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) and a Diplôme d’Université (University of Strasbourg), both in patent litigation in Europe. He is a litigator before the Unified Patent Court and is active in the European Patent Litigators Association in which he served two terms as a Board member.
Christian has more than 20 years of experience in European patent law, and a strong track record in contentious matters, including more than fifty EP opposition and appeal proceedings as well as several infringement and nullity court actions.
Clients from various technological areas rely on Christian’s skills in drafting, prosecuting, and enforcing patents, and with respect to infringement, (in)validity and freedom-to-operate opinions. Frequent technical and scientific topics of his work are polymers, medical devices, and computer-implemented inventions.
For a number of years now, patenting of green technologies has become a particular focus of Christian’s prosecution work. Christian is a member of AIPPI, EPLIT, and FICPI, and is the author of various articles on patent law, including a study comparing disclaimer solutions in Germany and Japan, and two articles explaining European oppositions and the concept of intermediate generalizations to the Japanese patent community.
Christian is Of Counsel at Synergy IP. As a German patent attorney, Christian maintains an individual law office.
Of Counsel
U.S. Patent Attorney | MSc in Electrical & Biomedical Engineering
Sam is a US-based Patent Attorney licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and in the State of Texas. Sam holds a J.D. in law, B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, and M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering. He brings over 15 years of experience in IP law and has successfully prosecuted patents to issuance in various technologies and industries, including biomedical & therapeutic devices, health & beauty products, mobile device & web-based software, and nutritional formulations. Sam is also experienced in counseling clients on patent portfolio development, offensive and defensive IP strategies, freedom-to-operate, and validity opinions. He is also a former contract Patent Examiner for the USPTO where he conducted searches and provided written reports on patentability in various arts.
Of Counsel
European and German Patent Attorney | PhD Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Andreas is a German and European Patent Attorney with 13 years of professional experience as in-house patent counsel in a pharmaceutical enterprise (Sandoz Austria). He has studied biology and biochemistry at the University of Dresden and was trained in patent matters from 2006-2009 in the Munich law firm Weickmann & Weickmann. His areas of expertise include prosecution, litigation, license agreements as well as freedom to operate analyses in the biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical field. Further, Andreas has trained scientists to become a European patent Attorney and has advised various clients in Germany and Austria in inventor law aspects.