Theresa C. Kavanaugh

Theresa Kavanaugh is a senior partner in the firm’s nationally recognized Life Sciences group, and the co-founder of Goodwin’s Late Stage Drug Development practice. Theresa has been consistently recognized as a leading life science patent attorney by numerous legal guides including Chambers USA- Intellectual Property, selection for yearly inclusion since 2013 in U.S. News-Best Lawyers as a LMG Life Science star, and recognition in The IAM Patent 1000 and as a 2025 IAM Global Leaders. She represents both early stage and mature life science companies worldwide on development and implementation of complex patent and market exclusivity strategies. She has substantial experience and a deep understanding of preparing for and positioning patent and regulatory strategy for M&A, company partnering, and financing events including public offerings; her strategic patent counseling has helped her clients achieve significant acquisition valuation and early stage funding.

Theresa has led patent portfolio strategy for many therapeutics that have gained FDA and worldwide regulatory approval.

Theresa has developed patent portfolio strategy for both therapeutics and diagnostics, including new chemical entities, biologics and 505(b)(2) products.

In particular Theresa has extensive experience in FDA Orange Book listing strategy, patent term extension, and preparing for ANDA or biosimilar competition, including preparing for and conducting post grant patent proceedings such as Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceedings at the USPTO. She has a special focus on small molecule, antisense, and peptide therapies, as well as biologic therapeutics including engineered foods, diagnostics, and nutraceuticals, including actives developed by machine learning and/or artificial intelligence.

She has extensive technical expertise with pharmaceutical and small molecule therapeutics; protein, antisense and other biologic therapies, diagnostic and drug discovery platform technologies (including AI and machine learning), microbiome modulator technology, polymer chemistry; alternative food and nutraceutical technologies, drug delivery and extended release formulations, materials science, and chemical process technologies.

Theresa is a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Boston Patent Law Association, and the American Chemical Society.

Theresa is most recently recognized by Chambers USA 2025 in Intellectual Property – MA and as a IAM Global Leader. The Legal 500 US 2025 also recognized Theresa for her work in the category Patents: Prosecution (including Re-Examination and Post-Grant). Theresa has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America Best Lawyers for her work in Patent Law, Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice since 2013, and by the IAM Patent 1000.

• Lead author, “Eight on AI: Quick Considerations on Patenting Drug Discovery Therapeutics using Artificial Intelligence and Life- Science Related Machine Learning ( June 2024)
• Co-author, “Strategic Considerations for Seeking Patent Term Extension (PTE) and its Scope for Drug Products,” Goodwin Insights, May 2020