Tamera (Tammy) Weisser is an intellectual property associate in the San Diego office of Jones Day.  Her practice includes domestic and foreign patent portfolio development, management and enforcement in biotechnology, including immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, genetics, cell biology, stem cell therapy, gene therapy and medical devices. Weisser has particularly extensive experience in the field of antibody technology, and has represented clients such as Kyowa Hakko Kirin, MacroGenics and MedImmune (now part of AstraZeneca) in developing their antibody portfolios. Other representative clients include Altair Therapeutics, Ambit Biosciences, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, BioSphere Medical (now part of Merit Medical), Celgene, Monogram Biosciences (now part of LabCorp), and the Regents of the University of California. She also performs patent validity, noninfringement and freedom-to-operate analyses, and conducts due diligence of patent portfolios for potential investors, acquirers and licensees, such as venture capital firms or pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Apposite Capital, Celgene, GeoSynFuels and Mitsui Ventures.

In addition to her intellectual property practice, Weisser is part of the San Diego office’s recruiting committee and has been actively involved in organizing the summer associate program.  She also mentors and supervises a number of less experienced associates.   

Weisser earned her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2004. While attending law school, she worked full-time as a patent agent in the Washington, D.C., office of Hale and Dorr LLP and was involved in biotechnology patent prosecution and litigation support. 

Before pursuing her legal career, Weisser obtained a Ph.D. in immunology and virology in 2000 from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In addition, she was formerly a research scientist studying DNA-based vaccine technology at Agracetus Inc. in Madison, Wis., and the Emory University Vaccine Research Center in Atlanta, Ga. She received her B.S. degree in molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993. 

Weisser is admitted to the State Bar of California, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, and she is also registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She is currently an active member of the San Diego County Bar Association, San Diego Intellectual Property Law Association, Athena San Diego, the San Diego chapter of the Association for Women in Science, Lawyers Club of San Diego and Mother Attorney Mentoring Association. She is married and the mother of 3-year-old Jackson.