Life Sciences Patents

We have long been at the forefront of developing EPO practice in the life sciences field.  For instance, we’ve helped to secure recognition of the patentability of therapeutic treatments based on new diagnostic regimens, new technical effects and new patient subgroups. These influential decisions have helped our clients to protect their investment throughout the drug life cycle.

Our Life Sciences patent team is distinguished by its large number of highly experienced attorneys. Some firms can offer one or two leading figures, we have many. We have an excellent reputation for opposition and appeal work before the EPO and we have many partners who are highly active in this area. This enables us to give each case the attention it requires, and contributes to our enviable success rate.

We also have a strong track record in nurturing inventions arising from universities and research organisations. We have provided the IP foundation on which numerous biotechnology start-up & spin-out companies have been built, and we are proud to have supported many companies through to successful IPO, acquisition or expansion.

Of course, a strong IP strategy in life sciences is about much more than just patents.  For some clients we operate as a surrogate for an in-house IP group, dialling up and down the support according to business needs – covering everything from due diligences, in/out-licensing, drafting & patent portfolio building, freedom-to-operate support and industry-specific strategic advice.

As one of the largest IP specialist firms in Europe, Mewburn Ellis can offer a wealth of relevant expertise, from trade mark protection to Plant Variety Rights (PVRs).

Our legal services team is distinguished by a strong technical background in life science and considerable experience in dealing with regulatory issues, clinical trial practice, and IP exploitation in the this sector. Our Extensions and Exclusivity team includes experienced IP counsel who previously specialised in this area while working in-house for a global pharmaceutical company. Our team regularly supports clients on strategic commercial exclusivity analysis for their products – taking account of the patent, regulatory and real-world factors in order to guide extensions strategy, often before progressing on to the SPC and PTE filings themselves.