Tamera M. Weisser

In January, Weisser served as lead intellectual property counsel for NGM Biopharmaceuticals Inc.’s $125 million follow-on offering.

She also serves as an adviser to the South San Francisco-based company, helping to establish its global patent portfolio for novel protein therapeutics for the treatment of liver and metabolic disorders.

The protein mimics a protein the human body naturally produces, but in modified form so it can be used to treat liver disorders without causing cancer, Weisser said.

The company had its initial public offering in 2019.

Weisser, who has a Ph.D. in immunology and virology, has worked for two decades advising publicly traded biotechnology companies on their patent portfolios.

She works with two Chinese publicly traded companies, Burning Rock Biotech Ltd. and Nanjing Legend Biotechnology Co., the latter of which is in the midst of Stage III trials on artificially engineered T-cells that can be used to treat multiple myeloma.

“We’ve never really seen a downturn,” Weisser said. “Innovation continues to happen” with biotechnology companies regardless of the ups and downs of the economy.

After spending five years as the co-head of the global patent prosecution group at Jones Day, Weisser took over in 2020 as the administrative partner of the firm’s San Diego office.

While she is still working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, Weisser said she is “cautiously optimistic we will be opening up soon. I see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The virus has attracted attention to the coronavirus, but Weisser remains busy working to assist companies on their patent portfolios on treatments for cancer and other illnesses.

“That’s what makes our job great,” she said. “Nobody is going to stop working on these diseases.”

— Craig Anderson