Mewburn Ellis has a long history of working with leaders in the field of monoclonal antibodies and continues to be a go-to IP firm in this space. Looking back over this history, we are proud to have worked with the 2018 Nobel Prize winner Professor Winter on patents for phage display for the directed evolution of antibodies. We have since developed and protected the patent portfolios for numerous blockbusters, including Herceptin®, Humira®, Avastin®, Rituxan®, Lucentis®, Xolair®, Perjeta®, Yervoy® and Opdivo® (combined sales in 2020 just under USD 50 bn).
Antibody development is now a mature field, with relatively few new targets and an ever-increasing emphasis on fine-tuning properties including immunogenicity, affinity, Fc effector function, FcRn half-life, production compatibility or glycosylation. We have helped many companies gain appropriate patent protection for antibodies engineered using one or more of these approaches. We also have extensive experience with bi-and multi-specific formats.
We have specialists in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in both our life sciences and chemistry teams, familiar with the latest research concerning the payload, linker and antibody elements, as well as the complex interplay between these parts. Our ADC experience spans the full drug development cycle, having guided the development of the portfolio behind Zynlonta® right from the first chemistry patents for the payload through to FDA approval of the ADC. Other notable work in the targeted drug conjugate space work includes high-profile ADCs such Kadcyla® and Lumoxti®, as well as developments in the field of antibiotic-antibody drug conjugates.
We have a long track record of success in oppositions in this space at the EPO, both offensive (opposing the patents of other parties) and defensive (defending the patents of our clients). Several of our attorney have also been involved litigating antibody patents in the European courts, for example, pan-European litigation on anti-PD-1 antibodies. Our experience of seeing patents throughout their full life-span feeds back to strong and robust patent drafting.
We frequently offer seminars and workshops to in-house patent departments and to attorneys working in other jurisdictions, to assist their own practice. We can also help companies to identify opportunities for patents to follow-on inventions, e.g., arising from clinical trial data.
