Mr. Mino is a business attorney serving the life sciences industry. He enjoys working with clients on a variety of legal matters, specifically supporting research, manufacturing, commercialization, and post-commercial strategies. As an experienced life sciences attorney, Mr. Mino offers an ideal general counsel for biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies by leveraging his broad experience in commercial contracts, intellectual property, cGMP quality, human resources law, and operations. As one of the most well-known life sciences attorneys in Palm Beach County, Mr. Mino has tirelessly served to help clients and non-clients find resources, talent, and collaborations in our local industry.
Licenses
• Registered Patent Attorney, United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Licensed to Practice in Florida
• Licensed to Practice Law in District of Columbia
• Licensed to Practice Law in Massachusetts
• Admitted to Practice, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Education
• JD (focus: Business Law and Intellectual Property Law), University of Florida
• MS (Molecular Biology and Pharmacology), University of Florida
• MBA (focus: Entrepreneurship and Marketing), University of Florida
• BS (Genetics), University of Georgia
• Certificate (Intellectual Property Law, Copyright), Harvard Law School
• Regulatory Affairs Certificate: Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals, RAPS*
Mr. Mino was awarded the prestigious book award in “Law and Entrepreneurship,” for coursework focused on legal issues for small companies. While earning an MBA, he was awarded the “Best Written Plan” award for a business plan he co-drafted for a biotech he co-founded and which was ultimately funded using the plan. Learn more here.
Experienced Life Sciences Industry Professional
Mr. Mino established his career through progressively elevated levels of responsibility in three Fortune 1000 life sciences tools companies before entering medical device and pharmaceuticals, serving in various roles including general counsel, business development leadership, general manager, sales, marketing, researcher and commercialization. He has closed over $50M in deals, held responsibility for a $500M product line, prosecuted a number of pharmaceutical patents to issue, was awarded Roche Diagnostics’ prestigious Entrepreneurial Leader award and Applied Biosystems’ President’s Club award.
Mr. Mino is also an entrepreneur, having successfully exited two life sciences companies, one he co-founded. The true Swiss Army Knife, Robert offers strategic advice based on extremely uniquely broad experience in legal, research, sales, marketing, operations, cGMP, regulatory affairs, government relations, and corporate development. After graduating college Robert didn’t spend two decades at a law firm perfecting the billable hour, rather he gained significant experience working in commercial roles to understand your needs as a company. Robert provides legal advice grounded in business realities – and that is exactly what sets him apart. Learn more here.
His graduate research focused on catalytic RNA, creating alternative nucleic acids, pharmacologic intervention to prevent neovascularization in diabetic retinopathy, and AAV-mediated gene therapy. Working for Applied Biosystems, Roche Diagnostics, and Sigma Aldrich early in his career, he was considered a subject matter expert in real-time PCR and PCR technologies. He rose to a strategic role in DNA sequencing at Applied Biosystems, where he led strategic marketing for the Western Hemisphere for a $500M product line, including supporting the commercial launch and corporate development efforts around the first next-gen sequencer the company launched.
Knowledgeable Life Sciences General Counsel
Mr. Mino is the general counsel for a growing life sciences company. Many attorneys went straight from a non-science, non-business undergraduate degree into their legal education, then straight to a law firm. Although some of those attorneys are excellent firm lawyers, their only professional commercial experience is the maximization of billable client hours. In addition to a scientific education and an MBA, Mr. Mino has earned extremely prestigious awards in sales, notably President’s Club and the Entrepreneurial Leader award, each from fortune 1000 companies, and has lead strategic marketing for a $500M product line. Mr. Mino has been a VP of Business Development, VP of Sales and Marketing, and Sr. Director of Commercialization – all in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and related fields.
Palm Beach County Life Sciences Activities
Robert P. Mino has been a well known fixture in the Palm Beach County Life Sciences Industry for many years. Some of his local participation includes:
- Entrepreneur-in-Residence for University of Florida Innovate – Working to connect companies to University of Florida technologies and support those licensee companies. University of Florida has three locations in Palm Beach County, including Scripps Florida in Jupiter and the EREC in Belle Glade.
- BioFlorida – Serving as the Palm Beach / Treasure Coast Chapter Co-Chair since 2013.
- Business Development Board of Palm Beach County (BDB) – Participating on the Life Sciences Advisory Council for the formal economic development organization for Palm Beach County since 2017.
- CareerSource Palm Beach County – Providing guidance as the life sciences industry expert in support of the job growth in the local industry.
- Florida Atlantic University – Affiliate Faculty with the Pharmaceutics program, where he teaches courses in intellectual property law and pharmaceutical sciences.
- Palm Beach County Medical Society – Hero in Medicine Award in 2019 for work to grow the Palm Beach County Life Sciences Industry.
- Life Sciences South Florida – Helping this academic and government life sciences industry partnership as Executive Director on the LSSF Board since 2018.
- FAU Tech Runway – Mr. Mino served as a mentor for several life sciences companies in this accelerator from 2017-2021 and now offers ad hoc advising when asked.
- Mr. Mino was even recognized at the October 6th, 2020, Palm Beach County Commission meeting for his work to support the industry over his three years leading implementation of the Palm Beach County Life Sciences Industry Action Plan, during which time several thousand new jobs were added to the local Life Sciences Industry.
Business Attorney
Looking for a member of your leadership team who can fill many roles? Mr. Mino is a well rounded business-experienced leader with multi-functional leadership experience. Unlike most attorneys, Mr. Mino has been an executive in many roles including general manager, sales, marketing, business development, quality, and regulatory affairs. In light of his experience, Mr. Mino provides advice which takes many factors into account. As a member of your leadership bench, Mr. Mino is capable of filling needs across many roles. Unlike large law firms, which need to simultaneously bill several attorneys on your matter to obtain similar broad knowledge, Mr. Mino is capable of providing such broad advice at an affordable price.
Life Sciences Patent Attorney
Patents are the lifeblood of innovation. Mr. Mino is first and foremost a business attorney and understands that patents are but one of many tools used by companies and individuals in order to generate a return on investment for their inventive activities. For this reason, Mr. Mino always works with his clients to determine the best form of IP protection to meet their individual needs, whether a patent or some other form of IP protection. Unlike many attorneys offering IP law services, only registered patent attorneys have passed the US Patent Bar and are licensed to practice in front of the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Mr. Mino no longer offers patent prosecution services. During his time performing patent prosecution, he primarily drafted device patents, including working on files for major medical device companies, but also had a diversity of work to include video game controllers, cleaning products, sprinkler devices, and even a couch cushion. He has managed the patent portfolio for several pharmaceutical companies.
Regulatory Affairs / FDA /FTC Law focused on the Life Sciences
Mr. Mino holds educational credentials in the regulatory affairs arena, having obtained several certificates from the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society, of which he is an active member, two degrees in scientific fields, and a Juris Doctor (a doctorate degree in law). Mr. Mino has personally led a team, on which he was a personal participant, which build a cGMP and ISO 17025 audited quality system for drug and medical device testing services. He also served as general manager for a contract analytical testing laboratory in the medical devices field and in house counsel in pharmaceuticals. He has also served multiple dietary supplement clients and has provided advice on a significant number of dietary supplement product labels. During these tenures, Mr. Mino was part of the team which drafted regulatory submissions, including FDA 483 responses, pre-market notifications, and other filings.
Trademark Attorney
Trademark law touches all areas of commerce and is governed in some part under international, federal, and state laws. Trademarks allow consumers to identify the source of products and services. Without trademarks, companies would not be able to build customer loyalty, a quality reputation, or goodwill. Mr. Mino works with clients to help secure their trademark rights. Many trademark attorneys have never placed a product in the market and therefore may miss the nuances of your commercial strategic needs. As a former strategic marketers of a $500M international DNA sequencing product line and a former sales rep, Mr. Mino understands how the trademarks will be used from a business perspective.
*Attorney does not maintain a current RAC Certification.