Protein

Therapeutics

We have extensive experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the field of engineered peptide therapeutics, gaining insight into the different challenges that working in this area raises as compared to patenting antibody or polypeptide therapeutics. Our experience includes work on portfolios covering approved and candidate peptide therapeutics, such as Lixisenatide, Danegaptide, Glepaglutide and Dasiglucagon.

Many of these challenges revolve around the evolution of an initial wild-type peptide to become a candidate peptide therapeutic, modifying or truncating the wild-type peptide and often incorporating other types of derivatisation and cyclisation to optimise the properties of the therapeutic molecule. This work requires an understanding of underlying biochemistry and chemistry of the molecules.

In addition, the team at Mewburn Ellis working in this area have extensive experience of freedom-to-operate analysis, EPO opposition and appeals and other strategies to manage the competitive landscape, while maximising the protection of the products of the applicants we represent.

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Opposition Trends in the Life Sciences Sector

Special Report

In spring 2019, Mewburn Ellis undertook 350 hours of research, analysing more than 5,000 opposition cases filed at the European Patent Office over the last ten years, studying the timelines for hundreds of life sciences oppositions both before and after the EPO’s opposition streamlining initiative.

View the 2020 addendum for this report, based on information as it appeared on the EPO Register on 10 January 2021 and from bulk data sets extracted on this date.

Download the Report

Read our Blogs

UPC Weekly - Court of Appeal settles the UPC framework for inventive step

UPC Weekly - Court of Appeal settles the UPC framework for inventive step

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 48 If you only read one UPC decision this year, read one of these. You can take your pick, based on technical background. Amgen v. Sanofi / Regeneron is in the field of antibodies for ...

UPC Weekly - Same parties, same prior art, same patent – different claim interpretations in the UPC and UK lead to different outcomes

UPC Weekly - Same parties, same prior art, same patent – different claim interpretations in the UPC and UK lead to different outcomes

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 47 We don’t often get to see the same patent being assessed in an EPO opposition, in the UK Patents Court and also at the Unified Patent Court. So we’ve lucked out with Advanced Cell ...

UPC Weekly - Have a second iron in the fire – hedging PI risk against the same medical device

UPC Weekly - Have a second iron in the fire – hedging PI risk against the same medical device

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 46 The last month or so has seen a significant number of decisions on preliminary injunctions (PIs) for medical devices. What’s been noticeable about many of these cases is that they come ...

What does the UK Precision Breeding Act mean for Agriculture?

What does the UK Precision Breeding Act mean for Agriculture?

by Louise Atkins

British agriculture reached a significant milestone on 13 November 2025, when the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025 officially came into effect. In combination with the Genetic ...

UPC Weekly - UPC Court of Appeal brings order to the galaxy

UPC Weekly - UPC Court of Appeal brings order to the galaxy

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 45 This week we report on two recent and important UPC Court of Appeal decisions. Each considers claim interpretation and the relevance of expert and experimental evidence to UPC ...

UPC Weekly - File wrapper bites at the UPC

UPC Weekly - File wrapper bites at the UPC

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 44 Claim interpretation at the UPC has been one of the most consistent threads through the decisions coming out of the first instance UPC courts, due in part to an early setting of the ...

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Forward Magazines Overlapping 8

Mewburn Ellis

FORWARD MAGAZINE

Mewburn Ellis Forward is a biannual publication that celebrates the best of innovation and exploration. Through its pages we hope to inform and entertain, but also to encourage discussion about the most compelling developments taking place in the scientific and entrepreneurial world. Along the way, we’ll engage with the IP challenges that international organisations face every day.