Malaika Tyson, Ph.D., is a Shareholder at McAndrews whose practice focuses on corporate intellectual property and patent protection strategies. Malaika assists innovative companies in developing integrated approaches to the strategic management of intellectual property by providing patent and trademark prosecution, competitive intellectual property analysis and portfolio management, and management of complex multi-faceted intellectual property transactions. Malaika also has experience with post-grant proceedings, patent litigation, and EPO patent opposition practice. She represents clients in various areas – particularly in the life science, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical and material sciences, and consumer goods industries.
Malaika has extensive experience counseling universities, research institutions, multinational companies, and startups for domestic and international prosecution for technologies such as imaging and diagnostic agents, proteomics and protein chemistry, cell biology, pharmaceuticals (large and small molecule), vaccines, animal biotechnology, assays, analytical instruments and detection devices, drug-delivery materials, medical devices, chemical technologies, and consumables.
Malaika received her J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School and earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry (Analytical) from Purdue University. Before joining McAndrews, she worked at MilliporeSigma Biotechnology as a Senior Research and Development Scientist in the Proteomics group, where she was responsible for developing and optimizing products and strategies for biopharmaceutical applications.
Malaika is currently a member of Council for the ABA IPL Section, co-chair of AIPLA’s USPTO Relations Subcommittee, president (Chicago) and national board member of Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, a member of the board of directors for the Chicago Committee, and founding member of the Emerging Leaders Council of Bottom Line – an organization dedicated to helping low-income, first-generation Chicago high school students get into and achieve success in college.
In 2021, she was selected a Top 50 Women in the Law award honoree by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Malaika has also been an AIPLA 2020 Woman to Watch, 40 Under Forty recipient (Law Bulletin Publishing Company), and is regularly recognized as an Illinois Rising Star for intellectual property law.