Rebecca Brooks

Rebecca advises clients on all aspects of the patent lifecycle, from drafting and global filing strategies through to prosecution, portfolio management, and opposition strategies. Her broad experience enables her to provide practical, commercially focused advice tailored to each client's business objectives.

Rebecca has extensive experience in contentious proceedings. She represents clients in opposition and appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office, with specific experience in antibody therapeutics. She has defended valuable patent rights and challenged third-party patents in highly competitive therapeutic areas. Rebecca also supports UPC litigation strategy, including the preparation of invalidity counterclaims in high-stakes proceedings.

Rebecca also regularly advises on due diligence and freedom-to-operate projects, helping clients assess patent risks and opportunities across a broad range of life science technologies.

Rebecca's scientific background is in cell biology, providing her with a strong foundation across a wide range of life science technologies. She has particular experience in oncology therapeutics, including antibody therapeutics, immunotherapies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), small molecules, biomarkers, targeted therapies, and combination therapies. Her wider practice also encompasses cell and gene therapies, vaccine technology, microbiome technologies, and diagnostics.

Areas of Expertise

• Antibody technology (human and veterinary applications)
• Cell therapy and immunotherapy
• Cancer therapeutics and precision medicine
• Biomarkers and companion diagnostics
• Vaccine technology
• Microbiome-based technologies

Clients

Rebecca works with a diverse client base ranging from early-stage biotechnology companies and university spinouts to multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology organisations. She supports clients across Europe, Japan, the United States and Singapore, giving her a broad international perspective on patent strategy and portfolio management.

Background

Rebecca holds a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol. During her undergraduate studies, she spent 12 months in the pharmaceutical industry, where she used quantitative PCR and animal models to investigate disease progression.

Her PhD research focused on the interaction between cell-cell contacts and cell-matrix contacts, and the influence of this on cell migration during wound healing. Following her PhD, Rebecca undertook postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina, USA, investigating cellular migration via haptotaxis in wound healing and cancer. This research experience provides valuable insight when working with clients developing innovative life science technologies.

Rebecca's contributions have been featured in several peer-reviewed publications:

• Brooks et al. (2025) Journal of Molecular Cell Biology 17(1). DOI: 10.1093/jmcb/mjae054
• Fangfei et al. (2016) Elife 8:5:e20417. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.20417
• Roper et al. (2015) Journal of Investigative Dermatology 135(11): 2842-2851. DOI: 10.1038/jid.2015.224
• Brooks et al. (2012) Small GTPases 3(2):73-9. DOI: 10.4161/sgtp.19301

Professional Career

Rebecca joined the profession in 2017 and joined Mewburn Ellis in 2021. She qualified as a European Patent Attorney the same year and qualified as a Chartered Patent Attorney in 2022. She was promoted to Senior Associate in April 2025.

Rebecca is passionate about training and recruitment. She plays an active role in Mewburn Ellis’ in-house training programme, delivering tutorials for trainee patent attorneys on both the qualifying examinations and the practical aspects of patent practice. She also maintains strong links with universities, regularly speaking to students about career opportunities in intellectual property and the transition from academia to the patent profession. In addition, Rebecca organises seminars and knowledge-sharing events for the firm's Life Sciences Practice Group.

Rebecca is also committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive profession. She contributes to Inclusion and Diversity initiatives through her involvement with the Careers in Ideas and South West IP Inclusive committees, as well as through a number of internal firm initiatives.

Memberships and Affiliations

Rebecca is a member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (epi).