Mewburn Ellis partner Camille explains how her love for maths, biotech and the law come together in her remarkable role.
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Bioinformatics combines the hottest trends in tech. AI, machine learning and data science merge to find insights in biology.
Experts in the field must thus be masters of both the tech world and life sciences.
To be a lawyer in the field adds a third element into this heady mix: the law. It’s an intimidating formula.
So how did Camille Terfve, life sciences partner attorney at Mewburn Ellis, find herself at the cutting edge of the bioinformatics revolution?
‘It took me three degrees to get that knowledge!’ says Camille. ‘I work in data-driven and mathematical approaches to study biology. Hence the term computational biology. I also cover AI and machine learning when applied to life sciences and biopharma.’
Her CV tells the tale. She began with a degree in bioengineering at the Université libre de Bruxelles in her native Belgium – ‘a broad degree, a mixture of process engineering and biotech’, followed by a MSc there in biotech and chemical engineering (highest distinction in both). Then off to the University of Cambridge for an MPhil in computational biology (top of class, director’s award), including research into data-driven systems analysis of genetic interactions in cancer at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. Then ‘because I hadn’t studied enough mathematics’ she did a PhD in bioinformatics at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI), looking at reverse engineering of signalling networks and machine learning applied to mass spectrometry data. She then decided to enter the patent profession and take on a new challenge of learning IP law. It sounds like an intense career pathway. Not quite how she sees it.
‘How did I get into bioengineering? I love maths! Nothing makes me happier than a set of equations. But what I’m interested in is biology and how biological systems work. I was looking for a field that would use a quantitative approach and be at the forefront of medicine and biology.’
Did she not think of staying to be an academic? ‘Absolutely I did. As everybody does, I think, when they study. But I saw the PhD as my chance to really dig deep into something. I will never get that chance again.’
She says she loved the experience, but it shifted her view: ‘I learned enormous amounts about science, but mostly soft skills, such as resilience, self-management and how to collaborate with others. And I felt frustrated with how far my research was from making an actual difference in the world.’
Practical approach
The idea that her research was too abstract is surprising. Her work on cell signalling in cancer, for example, is immediately applicable in the field.
‘Academia often focuses primarily on fundamental science,’ says Camille. ‘I was developing completely new methods to analyse data. And, yes, those methods could have been used to identify drug targets or understand off-target effects of drugs. But that’s not what I was doing. I was developing new methods to allow someone else to do that.’
She seriously considered transitioning into industry to get a step closer to where research makes a difference for patients, but in the process reflected on her library of qualifications. ‘I thought, what am I good at? What am I interested in? I’m passionate about this field of science, and I’m good at communicating and writing about it. So I need a job where I can use those skills and expertise to make a practical difference along the path from research being done to outcomes that change people’s lives.’
So she took up an offer to work as a patent assistant. ‘I’ll be completely honest, I had no idea what a patent attorney was when I first found the job. I just thought it combined the right things.’
The move was inspired. ‘You are constantly challenged as a patent attorney. There is no boring day. You are constantly learning, and need to keep up with inventors and what your clients are doing. I gave it a go and loved it.’
Her work reflects her scientific interests.
‘I’m passionate about data-driven mathematical approaches to study biology. I have always believed they were absolutely essential. We couldn’t do modern biology without these techniques.’
The rise of AI means she’s in hot demand. AI and ML applications are flourishing in biology, and Camille is on hand to provide guidance to the world’s leading practitioners.
‘Part of what I do is AI-driven drug discovery. I also do a lot of target discovery, drug repurposing and optimisation work. There’s a lot of bioinformatics, with AI and machine learning involved in everything from target identification to drug design and characterisation, including predicting how a drug will impact a patient. Then, if the drug is a biologic worth making, that involves bioreactors, and there is a lot of data-driven process control work in trying to make the best, purest drugs we can, with the best yield. I do a lot of modelling work on bioreactor production processes. I also do a lot of work on data-driven patient stratification and digital outcome metrics. Without the right patient population or the right way to measure impact on patients, clinical trials cannot succeed and drugs fall off the path to market. Bioinformatics is really making a difference at every step from target discovery through to companion diagnostics via drug development.’
Golden age of bioinformatics
Her timing couldn’t be better. Leading universities, ingenious startups and pharma companies are teaming up to use AI and data-driven approaches to crack biological challenges. Pharma companies of all sizes are investing heavily in bioinformatics departments.
Even tech companies are moving into the space. So how does Camille see the relationship between tech specialists and biologists? ‘It’s always a hybrid of both,’ she says. ‘You can’t do work like, for example, AlphaFold without a deep understanding of the physical reality you are modelling.’
The challenge in bioinformatics is finding true proficients at all sides of the equation. Camille admits (under duress) that her set of qualifications is hard to obtain. ‘It’s very rare,’ she says. ‘There are no shortcuts. Today, there are more degrees that include the different elements, but that was rarer when I was studying. I think it’s only when you have a deep understanding of the biology and a deep understanding of the maths that the magic happens.’
Her clients appreciate her skillset. She works with multinational pharmaceutical companies with strong knowledge of the patent system but who need some advice specifically in this field, through to startups and academics.
‘I have clients who are completely new to the world of intellectual property. They need someone who can deal with all aspects of IP, whether that’s with their bioinformatics or software components, their data, their more “traditional” drug assets or how these aspects interact. And I help these companies develop a strategy to make the most value out of everything they have.’
Strategy is key. 'We are consultants’ says Camille. ‘My team and I provide expertise (or capacity) not available to our clients internally.'
The Mewburn team work with clients in all areas of the bioinformatics field, of all sizes, and this experience plays a big role in shaping the advice. ‘We see so much,’ says Camille. ‘Both in terms of technology and range of commercial strategies. It’s partly why our clients come to us.’
Collaboration in the industry is mandatory. ‘It’s a collaborative ecosystem. For example, one company might have a great pipeline because they have an amazing method to analyse the data and come up with new drug candidates. But they may not have the expertise to bring that candidate to the clinic. They are going to have to work together with others. That’s a big part of the strategy we consult on.’
Another Mewburn advantage is the breadth of work. ‘We have a dedicated computational biology, bioinformatics and digital health team. We have a set of people who focus on this specialism and gain deep experience. It’s a deliberate choice we made as a firm, to have a core of experts in these fields rather than people who dabble in it. Most advisers work with teams where they pair up a biologist with an engineer and try to cover the ground between them. We think our approach means we can give better advice.’
A sensitive area is how to balance the desire to make tools and discoveries free for the wider community, with the need to obtain a return on investment in the research. ‘This is a community that really believes in the value of collaborative research and the value of crowdsourcing,’ says Camille. ‘Initially, bioinformatics was almost entirely open source. So there’s a really fine balance between making things available for the research community to use and protecting your asset. The researchers in this field, by and large, want to share their research. A good IP strategy considers all of these aspects. ‘
The future of the profession
Is the patent industry able to keep recruiting science specialists such as Camille? It is a serious question, with the Silicon Valley tech giants eagerly hiring talent for top dollar. ‘We have a good talent pipeline,’ says Camille. ‘But the field keeps growing, so there is a lot of fighting for the best talent. In Europe, particularly the UK, Denmark and Germany, there are good universities and strong centres of excellence at the intersection of biotech and tech, which some people call techbio these days.’
Looking forward, Camille sees bioinformatics as a foundational part of all life sciences R&D. ‘It is going to be a part of every biotech and pharma company. Not just a niche.’
And there is still so much work to do. ‘We said 20 years ago we’d have a complete model of a human cell, where we understand the complete system. All figured out. We’re a long way from that. What we’re getting good at is using AI and ML to predict how a small molecule will interact with a protein. We’re seeing a lot of success there. What’s more difficult to understand is what happens when you put that protein and that small molecule into a very complex system such as a human body. There are just so many interacting parts. In the next 10 to 20 years that’s where we are going to make the most progress.’
The torrential series of breakthroughs will only accelerate. ‘The pace is getting faster. Which means in my field we need to work faster. We need to file faster. We have to act on our feet faster. The speed of thinking is completely different. And the time frames in which decisions are made when managing an IP portfolio are also different. This is a field that’s publishing furiously fast, and where the value of things can change equally fast.’
Camille relishes the opportunity to be at the forefront of this work, radiating enthusiasm. Her instinct that working as a patent attorney would allow her to combine all her passions seems entirely justified.
‘I feel like I’m helping people,’ she says. ‘My clients are immensely talented people doing incredible work that’s changing biotech and healthcare. Helping them do the work they do, in our tiny way, is what keeps me coming into work. It’s what drives me.’
Written by Charles Orton-Jones.
