Intellectual Property and
Entrepreneurship
UNC-CH Science and Business Club
January 22, 2015
Nathan P. Letts, JD, PhD
nletts@olivelawgroup.com
408.497.3262
(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
Overview
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Education/Career Outline
KinoDyn, Inc.
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Skills (patent attorney)
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Skills (entrepreneur)
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Take home messages
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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
Scientific Training
BA in Chemistry from Hamilton College,
upstate New York (small liberal arts,
limited research)
 PhD in Organic Chemistry from Columbia
University (research excellence)
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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
Career Sketch
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Scientific Advisor/Law Clerk
 Cooper & Dunham, NYC
 25 Lawyer firm/biotech/A
to Z
JD from Fordham (NYC)
Senior Associate (legal excellence)
 Pennie & Edmonds (now Jones Day)
 Advanced patent work (interferences,
trial, due diligence)

In-house counsel

Co-Founder, CEO KinoDyn, Inc.
 DiaDexus,
jury
San Francisco, CA
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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
KinoDyn 1
Q3 2009 started collaboration with Jackie
Quay (UNC OTD)
 Q3/4 2011 drafted/filed multiplexed
inhibitor bead/mass spec (MIB/MS) Prof.
Johnson
 Q4 2012 filed MIB/MS international
application (PCT) asked what they were
doing with technology

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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
KinoDyn 2: MIB/MS Techology
1.
Load cells or tissues
2.
Capture active kinases on
multiplexed inhibitor beads
(MIBs)
3.
Elute and analyze by mass
spec (MS)
4.
Compare before and after
drug treatment
(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
Cell lines
Tumors
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KinoDyn 3
Q4 2012 met with Prof. Johnson, Graves,
Jin decide to form a company KinoDyn,
Inc.
 Q1 2013 Incorporated in Delaware
 Q2 2013 recruited Holden Thorp to
Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
 Q3 2013 first public presentation

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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
KinoDyn 4
Q1 2014 with help of advisor Kay
Wagoner (CEO Icogen) and others
pitched at Council for Entrepreneurial
Development (CED)
 Q2 2014 raised venture funds (seed
round)
 Q3 2014 raised NCBC funds, started lab

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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
Skills (Patent Attorney)

Client satisfaction (deliver)
 Law firm (cost effective, high quality)
 In-house (manage expectations)
Network
Understand new technologies
Ask good questions
Attend to details
Communicate excellently both oral and
written
 Envision every way a patent or a deal may
go wrong
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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
Skills (entrepreneur)
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See the big picture
Network
Boundless optimism
Inspire others
Delegate
Attend to details
Communicate well both oral and written
Translate technology at a high school
science level
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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
Take home messages

Network shamelessly (family, friends, high
school, college, grad school)
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Alumni, career services

Perfect resume/cover letter
For startups work in San Francisco, Los Angeles,
San Diego, Boston, NYC
 For law work in SF, Boston, NYC, DC, Chicago
 Multiple resumes
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Carefully manage your online profile
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Linked In, email addresses, facebook
Listen
Find mentors
Be prepared
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(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC
About the Presenter
Dr. Letts currently works as a patent attorney at The
Olive Law Group PLLC in RTP. He was the founding
CEO and co-founder of KinoDyn, Inc. (a UNC-CH
spin-out). He received a PhD in organic chemistry
from Columbia University under Prof. Ronald Breslow
and a JD from Fordham University. He has worked at
Cooper & Dunham and Pennie & Edmonds (now
Jones Day). From 2001-2007 he was sole in-house
counsel at diaDexus, Inc. (S. San Francisco, CA) and
VP IP & Licensing.
Contacts: 408.497.3262 or nletts@olivelawgroup.com12
(c) Nathan P. Letts, 2015, Olive Law Group PLLC