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IP + Technology Law

Robert J. Hilton, Ph.D.

Partner
San Diego
robert.hilton@knobbe.com
858-707-4000
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Overview

Robert J. Hilton is a partner in our San Diego office.

Dr. Hilton represents a wide array of clients in the pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, and medical device industries related to patent prosecution and strategic counseling. He brings deep technical skills to clients’ work in therapeutics, diagnostics, antibodies, molecular biology, immunology, regenerative medicine, personalized and precision medicine, vaccines, drug delivery systems, cosmetics, and nutraceuticals, making him go-to counsel for patent protection issues of all kinds, and for complex patent portfolios. Dr. Hilton’s passion for the law and science allows him to appreciate his clients’ technical innovations and develop strategies for safeguarding and rewarding these advances.

Prior to graduate studies in biochemistry, Dr. Hilton was an ophthalmic assistant, specializing in retinal disorders. He has extensive experience in prosecuting portfolios related to diagnostics, therapeutics, and medical devices related to eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, and glaucoma.

Dr. Hilton has substantial experience in all aspects of patents, including drafting and prosecution, patentability, validity, and due diligence reviews. He also provides advice on risk management of intellectual property matters. Dr. Hilton offers honed skills in global patent portfolio creation and management and has guided companies from inception of ideas through building strong patent portfolios to secure business goals.

Dr. Hilton joined the firm in 2014 and became a partner in 2021.

 

Education

  • Brigham Young University (J.D., 2014), cum laude
  • Brigham Young University (Ph.D. Biochemistry, 2011)
  • Brigham Young University (B.S. Biochemistry, 2006)

Bar Admissions

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Recognition

  • Named a “Patent Prosecutor of the Year” by World Intellectual Property Review’s Life Science Network (LSPN) (2025)

News & Insights

Articles

Speeches & Seminars

  • A Negative Role for the Ferritin Nano-Cage: Anion Transport. nanoUtah Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, October 2010.

  • Maximizing the Efficiency of Ferritin as a Photocatalyst for Applications in an Artificial Photosynthesis System. International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), San Diego, CA, March 2010.

Latest Updates and News

Blog - Biotechnology
Mar 2025
District Court Finds the FDA Reasonably De-listed Eli Lilly’s Weight Loss Drug From Drug Shortage List
Congress authorized the FDA to determine whether a drug is “in shortage in the United States.” The FDA’s determination of a drug shortage triggers mechanisms designed to alleviate the shortage....
Blog - Biotechnology
Nov 2024
New Tool From EPA, FDA, and USDA Guides Developers of Genetically Modified Microorganisms Through Regulatory Landscape
On October 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new web-based interactive tool on the Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation for companies that develop microbial biotechnology products. The purpose of the tool is to help developers fulfill the regulatory requirements necessary to work with genetically modified microorganisms. The tool defines "genetic modification" as any technique that uses recombinant, synthesized, or amplified nucleic acids to modify or create a genome. “Microorganisms” include prokaryotes (e.g., bacteria and archaea), protists (e.g., amoebas), fungi (e.g., yeast, mold, mushrooms), green and red algae, and viruses or virus-like particles. Through a series of prompts, the tool provides users with information on regulatory requirements and the approval process across agencies. A built-in feedback function allows stakeholders to submit feedback directly to the agencies, which have expressed a commitment to continuing to improve the tool and expand its utility, scope and user base.
Blog - Biotechnology
Feb 2024
District Court Finds Mylan (Viatris) Infringes Regeneron’s Eylea Patent
On December 27, 2023, Judge Thomas S. Kleeh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia issued an order finding that Mylan (Viatris) infringed claims 4, 7, 9, 11, and 14-17 of Regeneron’s U.S. Patent No. 11,084,865 (“the ’865 patent”) after a nine-day bench trial held in June 2023.
Blog - Biotechnology
Nov 2023
Federal Circuit Says Extrinsic Evidence Should Have Been Considered in Claim Construction
In a recent precedential opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated an infringement judgement against Mylan (Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., No. 2022-1889, Fed. Cir. Nov. 6, 2023). This Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigation involved Actelion’s patents related to epoprostenol formulations, which cover Actelion’s brand name product, Veletri®, an injectable drug for treatment of severe pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Blog - Biotechnology
May 2023
FDA Approves Qalsody™ for Treatment of ALS
On April 25th, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved QalsodyTM (tofersen) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with a mutation in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene (SOD1-ALS). The accelerated approval for QalsodyTM was based on a reduction in levels of plasma neurofilament light (NfL), a biomarker associated with neuronal injury and neurodegeneration. QalsodyTM was developed in a partnership between Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Biogen Inc.
News
Jan 2021
Knobbe Martens Elevates 10 Attorneys to Partner
Knobbe Martens, one of the leading intellectual property law firms in the United States, is pleased to announce that 10 associates have been promoted to the firm’s partnership ranks, effective...