Pharmaceutical Expert Witness & Medicinal Chemist
Over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. Retained as an expert in patent, trade secret, trademark, product liability, and ANDA litigation for major pharmaceutical companies.
14+
Cases As Expert
8
depositions
25+
years experience
4
Trial Testimonies
- Ph.D. in Chemistry, Brown University
- Testimony at the U.S. International Trade Commission
- Testimony at the High Court of Malaysia (3 occasions)
- Federal and State Court testimony
- Daubert challenge to testimony rejected
- Adjunct Professor, Roger Williams University
ABOUT
A Scientist Who Communicates Complex Chemistry Clearly
Dr. Abato brings deep, hands-on pharmaceutical experience to the courtroom. His career spans the full drug development lifecycle — from medicinal chemistry and lead optimization through formulation, stability studies, pharmacokinetics, and IND submission.
He has contributed to the discovery of five preclinical candidates for Multiple Sclerosis, Arthritis, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and co-authored a pre-IND proposal for SMA that received a favorable review from the FDA.
As an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University, Dr. Abato is practiced at explaining complex scientific concepts to both science and non-science audiences — a critical skill when educating judges and juries.
Heroes of Chemistry Award
American Chemical Society,2019
Drug Discovery
Discovered multiple clinical candidates across anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and neurodegenerative disease programs during 11 years at Paratek Pharmaceuticals.
Industry Consulting
Consulted for H3-Biomedicine (oncology), the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (tuberculosis), and the Missouri Board of Pharmacy.
7 Patents, 7 Publications
Extensive publication record in peer-reviewed journals including J. Am. Chem. Soc., J. Med. Chem., J. Org. Chem., and Science Translational Medicine.
SERVICES
Areas Of Expertise
Expert Witness
Expert reports, depositions, trial testimony, and pre-trial preparation in pharmaceutical litigation.
- Patent validity & infringement
- Hatch-Waxman / ANDA disputes
- Trade secret misappropriation
- Trademark infringement
- Product liability
- Contract disputes
Pharmaceutical Consulting
Scientific consulting across the drug development pipeline, from discovery through CMC and regulatory submission.
- Medicinal chemistry
- Drug formulation & stability
- CMC support
- CRO management
- Preclinical study design
- Radiolabeled synthesis
TRACK RECORD
Litigation Experience
14+
8
4
Venues
U.S. International Trade Commission
High Court of Malaysia
U.S. Federal Courts
U.S. State Courts
Case Experience by Type
Patent Infringement / ANDA
Hatch-Waxman litigation, patent validity, obviousness analysis, claim construction support for branded and generic pharmaceutical companies.
Trade Secret Misappropriation
Cases involving proprietary pharmaceutical processes, formulations, and biologic drug development at the ITC and in federal court.
Trademark Infringement
Disputes within the pharmaceutical and synthetic biology markets, including report preparation, deposition, and pre-trial work.
Product Liability
Drug product degradation, storage conditions, and pharmaceutical manufacturing compliance with 21 CFR standards.
Contract Disputes
Pharmaceutical manufacturing, stability study compliance, and quality standard disputes.
Pharmacokinetics & Toxicology
Declarations and affidavits on urine pharmacokinetics, metabolite analysis, and plausibility of drug use claims.
EDUCATION
Academic Background
Brown University
Ph.D. in Chemistry, 2002
Advisor: Prof. Christopher T. Seto. Thesis on novel protease inhibitors and EMDee, a high-throughput enzymatic method for determining enantiomeric excess.
Rhode Island College
B.A. in Chemistry (Minor in Biology), 1996
Awarded Excellence in Organic Chemistry by the American Polymer Society.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Peer-Reviewed Research
Hastings ML, Berniac J, Liu YH, Abato P, et al. Tetracyclines that promote SMN2 exon 7 splicing as therapeutics for spinal muscular atrophy. Sci. Transl. Med. (2009) 1(5).
Abato P, Yuen CM, Cubanski JY, Seto CT. Inhibitors of Plasmin that Extend into Both the S and S’ Binding Sites. J. Org. Chem. 2002, 67(4), 1184–1191.
Abato P, Seto CT. EMDee: An Enzymatic Method for Determining Enantiomeric Excess. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 9206–9207.
Abato P, Conroy JL, Seto CT. Combinatorial Library of Serine and Cysteine Protease Inhibitors. J. Med. Chem. 1999, 42, 4001–4009.
7 patents and 7 publications. Full list available in CV.