Susan Myers Fitch is a registered patent agent in the firm’s Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Intellectual Property Group. Dr. Fitch has over six years of experience in law firms, private industry and research institutions where she has prepared and prosecuted patent applications in the areas of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, genomics, and proteomics. Dr. Fitch also handles freedom-to-operate, patentability, and due diligence analyses, working closely with scientific researchers, business teams, and foreign associates on a variety of matters, from responding to office actions to drafting patent applications based on inventor interviews and invention records. She has a strong record of helping clients and companies maximize and protect the value of their patents.

Before joining King & Spalding, Dr. Fitch was a patent agent at Perkins Coie LLP, and prior to that at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, where she managed a complex portfolio involving compounds for the treatment of diabetes, obesity and metabolic disorders.

Dr. Fitch also has experience as a researcher and academic instructor. As a graduate research assistant at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), she conducted research in the area of fission yeast genetics, specifically studying molecular mechanisms of chromosome segregation during cell division. In addition, she taught biology and nucleic acid biochemistry at UCSB. Dr. Fitch has also taught anatomy and physiology to nursing students.

Dr. Fitch has had several engagements as a science writer and also served as an illustrator for medical and scientific publications. She was competitively selected to receive the Mass Media Science & Engineering fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In this fellowship, she spent several months contributing to science news stories on the science desk of National Public Radio in Washington, D.C.

Professional Associations

• American Intellectual Property Association (AIPLA) – Patent Agent Affiliate Charter Member



• Member, Silicon Valley Intellectual Property Law Association (SVIPLA)



• Association for Women in Science (AWIS)



• National Association of Science Writers (NASW)

Education

• University of California, Santa Barbara, Ph.D. (2001) in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Recipient of Amgen Research Traineeship and the Travis L. Dixon Service Award



• Ohio State University, Graduate School. Master of Liberal Studies (1990); additional coursework in chemistry, biochemistry, and organic chemistry



• Ohio State University, School of Allied Medical Professions, College of Medicine, Bachelor of Science with certificate in medical illustration (1988); Phi Kappa Phi, Summa Award for Superior Scholarship, various honor societies and dean’s lists, including Ohio Board of Regents Scholarship

Admitted to Practice
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Reg. No. 55,477)