Alexander J. Donovan

Alex is a patent agent supporting the Intellectual Property practice and Life Sciences industry team. He is focused on helping life sciences, chemical, and technology companies protect and advance innovations at the intersection of chemistry, biochemistry, materials science, and engineering. He assists clients with drafting and prosecuting U.S. and international patent applications, evaluating patentability and freedom-to-operate issues, and conducting intellectual property due diligence. With a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and experience as both an inventor and industrial researcher, Alex brings a technical perspective that enables him to understand complex technologies quickly and translate them into thoughtful patent strategies.

Alex works with clients seeking to protect technologies ranging from biopharmaceutical and nanotechnology innovations to chemical formulations, surface technologies, and advanced materials. His scientific background spans biochemistry, polymer science, surface chemistry, interfacial phenomena, rheology, microfluidics, and drug-delivery technologies. That breadth is particularly valuable when inventions cross traditional scientific disciplines or when a patent strategy requires a detailed understanding of both fundamental science and the commercial application of a technology.

Before entering patent practice, Alex served as a senior researcher for a global construction materials manufacturer, where he developed formulations for commercial manufacturing and conducted fundamental and applied research involving construction materials and surface products. He is also an inventor or co-inventor on nine issued U.S. patents relating to surface chemistry and interfacial phenomena. His doctoral research focused on a threshold-switchable procoagulant nanotherapy incorporating a polymeric nanoparticle within a phospholipid vesicle designed to mimic platelet dense granules, giving him first-hand experience with the scientific and practical considerations that innovators face when moving sophisticated technologies from the laboratory toward real-world applications. Alex is currently a J.D. candidate at University of New Hampshire School of Law.

Alex approaches patent work with the perspective of someone who has developed technology himself. He understands that intellectual property decisions are rarely made in isolation from research priorities, product-development timelines, and broader business objectives. His goal is to make technically complex issues understandable and actionable while helping clients identify meaningful protection for the innovations most important to their businesses.

Alex has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed scientific publications and has contributed invited book chapters addressing multiphase microfluidics and oral nanoformulations. He also served as the chief entrepreneurial and technology lead for a team participating in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business New Venture Challenge, where the team explored reformulation strategies for poorly bioavailable small-molecule compounds using the FDA’s 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. This combination of scientific research, product-development experience, and exposure to commercialization strategy informs the practical perspective he brings to patent prosecution and intellectual property counseling.