Dr. Marya A. Postner is a partner in the Cooley Life Sciences practice group in the Business department. She joined the Firm in 1996 and is resident in the Palo Alto office.
Dr. Postner represents public and private life sciences companies, especially biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies, in a variety of transactions. She counsels clients with respect to the structuring and negotiation of agreements designed to maximize the value of the company's products and technology assets. She has particular experience handling strategic alliances with pharmaceutical companies in areas as diverse as collaborative research and the development and marketing of late-stage pharmaceutical products.
Dr. Postner previously practiced in the Firm's Patent Counseling & Prosecution group, providing patent prosecution, analysis and counseling services to life sciences companies. She draws on this experience when challenging intellectual property issues arise in the context of licensing, manufacturing and supply, clinical trial or sponsored research agreements.
Dr. Postner also has substantial technical expertise in the fields of genetics, developmental biology and cell biology. As a graduate student in Princeton University's Department of Molecular Biology, she investigated the role of the cytoskeleton in nuclear division and membrane partitioning, and she co-authored several scientific publications based on this work.
Dr. Postner received a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, in 1996. While at Boalt Hall, she was editor-in-chief of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. She earned MA and PhD degrees from Princeton University in 1989 and 1993, respectively. In 1987, she was awarded a BS in Biology, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University and a National Science Foundation graduate fellowship.
Dr. Postner is admitted to practice in California and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association, Sigma Xi and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
