Dr. James DeZazzo brings extensive scientific and legal experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and intellectual property law in corporate and law firm settings. Jim’s corporate experience includes more than 10 years as in-house counsel – most recently as VP of Intellectual Property at Palisade Bio, a public company focused on therapeutics for treating GI conditions and related inflammatory disorders where he was instrumental in securing international patent and trademark protection; overseeing licensing and contract matters; and supporting corporate, financing, manufacturing, regulatory, and due diligence activities.

Prior to Palisade Bio, Dr. DeZazzo was IP counsel at Dart NeuroScience, a private pharmaceutical company focused on new drugs and therapies for treating cognitive and other neurological disorders. Responsible for Dart NeuroScience’s IP matters, Jim implemented a global patent strategy covering more than ten drug families, formulations, cellular systems, assays, and therapies; built and enforced an international trademark portfolio; drafted and negotiated a wide array of company agreements; created IP policies and guidelines; and integrated legal and business strategies with executive management across diverse company functions. Dr. DeZazzo’s experience also covers counseling companies on IP matters related to new imaging and biopsy approaches and nerve illumination technology for use in surgery.

Dr. DeZazzo’s legal career began in New York City, as an associate at the IP boutique Darby & Darby, transitioning to positions in the East Coast offices of two international law firms, where his responsibilities included patent prosecution, counseling, and litigation for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, university, and pro bono clients.

A member of the New York State Bar, Dr. DeZazzo is also a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He received a Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, in biology from Colby College, and a Doctorate in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan. Following postdoctoral training in Neuroscience at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dr. DeZazzo worked in industry as a Senior Staff Scientist at GeneWorks, a biotechnology company in Ann Arbor, Michigan focused on animal transgenics and biologic drug production.