John W. Wallen III

John has served Avidity Biosciences, LLC, as its head of intellectual property since inception. Prior to Avidity, Dr. Wallen served as VP Intellectual Property & Corporate Legal at Ambrx, Inc. Prior to joining Ambrx, Dr. Wallen was a partner in the Technology/Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation practices at Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP, in San Diego.

Dr. Wallen has counseled clients on a broad range of issues, including patent prosecution, licensing, freedom to operate analysis and intellectual property litigation. Prior to entering private practice, Dr. Wallen was in-house patent counsel to both Merck & Co., Inc., and Johnson & Johnson. Prior to becoming a patent attorney, he was a scientist in the Cancer Research Department of Merck & Co., Inc. Dr. Wallen received a J.D. from Seton Hall Law School, a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. degree in clinical microbiology from Long Island University Brooklyn, a B.S. degree in Biology from the State University of New York and is a registered patent attorney with the USPTO.