Prajakta A. Sonalker, Ph.D.
A distinguishing feature of Prajakta’s practice is her experience in cross-border disputes. She coordinates litigation strategy across jurisdictions, working with international teams and managing parallel proceedings to align legal, scientific, and business objectives. Her experience includes matters involving parties, evidence, and legal issues spanning multiple jurisdictions, requiring integrated and strategic oversight.
Prajakta has handled disputes at all stages, from pre-suit investigation through trial and appeal, including proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In addition to her litigation work, she advises clients on risk assessment, freedom-to-operate considerations, and dispute strategy in connection with licensing, transactions, and product development.
Prajakta draws on nearly two decades of experience as both outside counsel and in-house, bringing a practical, business-oriented perspective to complex, high-stakes disputes.
Related Practices
Related Industries
Experience
Representative Matters
- Served as lead counsel in a high-stakes dispute involving gene-editing technology with cross-border elements
- Represented a major biopharmaceutical company in complex patent and trade secret disputes involving a therapeutic vaccine
- Advised major pharmaceutical companies on dispute strategies and risk allocation in connection with licensing and collaboration agreements
- Represented an innovator biopharmaceutical company in its multibillion-dollar acquisition of a cancer immunotherapy biotechnology company
- Represented a multinational pharmaceutical company in Hatch-Waxman litigation against multiple defendants concerning patents on an overactive bladder treatment
- Represented an innovator biopharmaceutical company in district court and PTAB proceedings concerning patents related to RNA interference technology
- Represented a multinational consumer goods company in Hatch-Waxman litigation against multiple defendants concerning patents related to long-acting cough medications
- Represented a multinational pharmaceutical company in Hatch-Waxman litigations concerning a patent on antifungal formulations
- Represented an innovator biopharmaceutical company in an interference proceeding involving nucleoside analogs useful for treating HCV infection
Representative Clients
- Alnylam
- Astellas Pharma
- Gilead
- Kite Pharma
- Reckitt Benckiser
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. Fordham University School of Law 2013
- Ph.D. Molecular Pharmacology University of Pittsburgh 2006
- B.S. Pharmaceutical Sciences Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India 2001
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Fellow, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), 2023
- Member, New York Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, Intellectual Property Owners Association
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, 2024 – 2025
- LMG Life Sciences, Rising Star, 2020