Sequencing

& Bioanalytics

Genetic sequencing technology has been revolutionised over the last two decades, firstly with the development of ‘next generation sequencing’ and then with third generation sequencing. The former recombines genomic fragments that are sequenced in parallel and the latter has allowed read-lengths to increase while reducing the size of the sequencing machines.

These technologies have made whole genome or exome sequencing fast and relatively inexpensive (currently in the order of $1000 for a whole human genome). This opens vast opportunities in the field of healthcare and beyond, making personalised medicine therapies possible.

Mewburn Ellis has supported the industry throughout each phase of its development. We have helped our clients to protect modified polymerases with improved accuracy and nanopore based single molecule sequencing methods, to name but two examples.

We also have considerable experience of providing IP protection for core platforms in other bioanalytic techniques, as well as their innovative applications in research, agriculture and medicine. This includes drafting, portfolio building and contentious work for the leading companies in the development of nucleic acid amplification, microarray technologies, and microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" devices. Many of our experienced patent attorneys have laboratory experience in this area and are supported by talented new recruits with up-to-date practical expertise.

Patent_Landscape_in_Bioinformatics_and_Digital_Health_Special_Report_2021-2-Compressed

Patent Landscape in Bioinformatics and Digital Health: a data-driven analysis

Special Report

The words "digital health", "data driven" and "AI" have been on everyone's lips and in many headlines in the healthcare and life sciences sectors over the last couple of years. However, navigating this rapidly changing landscape can be challenging for those in charge of managing the IP associated with the innovations underpinning these changes.  

In this Special Report, we set out to collect data on the patent landscape in the fields of bioinformatics and digital health, to see whether the growth we and our clients see in the field is reflected in the data and whether insights can be gained from the data that will assist in designing better, more informed IP strategies.

 

Read our blogs

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 ...

UPC Weekly - Secret prior use defence wins the day

UPC Weekly - Secret prior use defence wins the day

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 43 When you overlay an international court like the UPC with an array of existing national courts, there are wrinkles that need sorting out. In Heraeus v. Vibrantz, the UPC Local Division ...

Advanced Therapeutics – European Patent Oppositions

Advanced Therapeutics – European Patent Oppositions

by Anna Mudge

We investigated EPO opposition trends in the cell and gene therapy space across five years (2020-2024), using opposition data from the EPO and a combination of IPC codes and keywords.

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.