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

Celebrating Women: A Toast to Connection

Celebrating Women: A Toast to Connection

by Frances Salisbury

We were thrilled to host the first event in our new Celebrating Women series at our London office at 8 Bishopsgate, an evening designed to bring together women working across life sciences to ...

UPC Weekly - Apple-scuse me? Intervening to protect confidential information

UPC Weekly - Apple-scuse me? Intervening to protect confidential information

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 39 New orders from the UPC Court of Appeal (CoA) this week bring together two running strands of case law at the UPC – the rules about confidentiality clubs and the hurdle for third parties ...

Recalibrating Innovation: Venture Capital’s Transformative Role in the 2025 WIPO Global Innovation Index (GII) Cluster Rankings

Recalibrating Innovation: Venture Capital’s Transformative Role in the 2025 WIPO Global Innovation Index (GII) Cluster Rankings

by Chloe Flower

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has released its 2025 Global Innovation Index (GII) Cluster Rankings, and this year’s edition introduces a pivotal shift in how innovation is ...

UPC Weekly - EPO oppositions and UPC opt-outs – what the numbers say

UPC Weekly - EPO oppositions and UPC opt-outs – what the numbers say

by Katherine Green

2025 Week 38 With our focus on the UPC, we’ve been reporting on cases where EPO oppositions and UPC actions are happening in parallel, particularly where the parties are able to play these ...

UPC Weekly - Doctrine of equivalence gets another airing at the UPC

UPC Weekly - Doctrine of equivalence gets another airing at the UPC

by Matthew Naylor

2025 Week 37 Various divisions of the UPC have been notably reluctant to set out their vision for a structured test for how infringement by equivalence should be assessed. Except the Local Division ...

Most Active Defendants in EPO Oppositions – 2024

Most Active Defendants in EPO Oppositions – 2024

by Katherine Green

Each year the European Patent Office (EPO) grants about 100,000 patents. Of these about 2-3% are opposed – meaning that a third party has formally filed a request that the EPO revoke the patent. This ...

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.