About

‘Christopher J. Verni oversees the contentious and non-contentious patent and trademark work for Sarepta Therapeutics. He orchestrated a successful strategy involving patent proceedings in the US and across Europe adverse to BioMarin, ultimately obtaining a global settlement and license agreement. Those agreements resolve ongoing worldwide proceedings related to the use of Sarepta’s EXONDYS 51 (eteplirsen), the company’s first approved drug, as well as all future Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) exon skipping products. Further, they provide Sarepta with exclusive access to global rights to BioMarin’s DMD patent estate. This was essential for Sarepta, providing the company with freedom-to-operate, but more importantly a victory for the many patients in the Duchenne community seeking the novel therapy that addresses a critical, previously unmet need. Sarepta has grown substantially following the September 2016 approval of EXONDYS 51 by the Food and Drug Administration. But both before and after approval, Verni balanced extensive in-house responsibilities as a member of the company’s management team with the need to coordinate multiple outside counsels from numerous jurisdictions. Despite the workload, Verni is always professional, courteous, efficient, and thoughtful. He does things the right way, and is a great team member through and through. He would be a valuable addition to The Legal 500 GC Powerlist’.