Spotlight on

BioProcessing & Industrial BioTech

Making bioproducts is far from easy, often requiring an in-depth understanding of cellular culture dynamics, cell biology & metabolism, fluid dynamics, process engineering, bioreactor design, biochemical and dynamic aspects of purification processes, process control, and data driven modelling. This work is absolutely crucial, without bioprocessing there is no product!  Conversely, improvements in any aspect of bioprocessing can have enormous value as even small productivity or quality improvements to such high value products are impactful, and improvements can often apply to multiple products.  

Our advanced bioprocessing team has extensive experience obtaining and defending IP in this complex field, both in relation to upstream and downstream processes innovation. We have a multidisciplinary team that mirrors the complexity and diversity of technical expertise of our clients working in this field, including experts in cell biology and biochemistry and their specific implications to bioprocessing, traditional bioprocessing including running and optimising fermentation processes, data & AI driven analysis of bioprocesses including for monitoring, prediction and optimisation of bioprocesses, dynamical modelling of bioprocesses, process engineering, and bioreactor design. 

We work together across different technical fields to make sure that all aspects are properly considered, so that the value of your IP is maximised. We understand intimately the complex technical, practical and commercial realities of working in this high value, highly regulated industry. We have successfully defended high value patent portfolios in this field, as well as helped our clients navigate freedom to operate. We are experts in drafting for success in all aspects of upstream and downstream processes. 

Read our Blogs

Global considerations for innovators in microbial biostimulants and biocontrol agents

Global considerations for innovators in microbial biostimulants and biocontrol agents

by Ben Tolley

Our recent analysis found that global patent activity in microbial biostimulants and biocontrol agents is surging, with strong growth in both patent applications and granted patents. For a detailed ...

EPO decision T 0655/24: inventive step and the unpredictability of antibody mutations

EPO decision T 0655/24: inventive step and the unpredictability of antibody mutations

by Chris Denison

This is the final post in a series on decision T 0655/24 and its implications for antibody practice at the EPO. In the first post, Chris discussed the Board’s strict approach to post-filing evidence ...

EU NGT Regulation Approved: A Step Towards Innovation

EU NGT Regulation Approved: A Step Towards Innovation

by Louise Atkins

The EU’s long‑awaited regulation on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) has now cleared its final legislative hurdle, with the European Parliament voting to approve the agreed framework, rejecting ...

Molecular Glue Degraders (MGDs): what they are, how they work and key IP Issues

Molecular Glue Degraders (MGDs): what they are, how they work and key IP Issues

by Tim Nash

Molecular glue degraders (MGDs) are small molecules that induce or stabilise protein–protein interactions, often by recruiting an E3 ligase to a target protein and triggering its ubiquitination and ...

Ageing as a disease: Groundbreaking or Ground-Shaking?

Ageing as a disease: Groundbreaking or Ground-Shaking?

by Emily Garnett

As a species, humans have long been preoccupied with living longer and healthier lives. However, prior to the advent of modern medicine, any real prospect of fulfilling these ambitions existed more ...

EPO decision T 0655/24: Striking the Right Balance in Antibody Claim Drafting

EPO decision T 0655/24: Striking the Right Balance in Antibody Claim Drafting

by Chris Denison

This is the second in a series of three posts on recent decision T 0655/24 and its implications for antibody practice at the EPO.

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Bioprocessing & Industrial Biotechnology - Protecting Innovation

With the development of increasingly advanced therapeutics and other products - from vaccines and cell therapies to food products and biofuels - bioprocessing and industrial biotechnology are becoming more important than ever.

Developing and scaling up biotechnological processes can be technically challenging and require significant investment in research and development.

Patent protection enables to secure these advancements and creates a competitive advantage for the innovators in this field.  It  is no surprise that patents covering platform technologies in biotech manufacturing are highly valuable and often challenged  by third parties.

Our team has significant  experience in drafting and defending bioprocessing patents.  We have successfully defended patents protecting antibody manufacturing and processing methods, including in multi-opponent EPO opposition proceedings.

We understand the challenges associated with developing bioprocessing and manufacturing methods.  Inventions in this field often lie on great technical stories that involve creative solutions to technical problems that only arise, or become particularly acute during large scale industrial processes.  For example, the recognition of a previously unnoticed problem during early-stage development, such as the discovery that certain cell culture components are the cause for problematic visual characteristics in the bioproduct, or that surprising loss of intact antibody yield during scaled-up manufacture is due to specific redox reactions in the cell culture fluid following fermentation, or that purification methods successfully used at laboratory scale introduce undesirable impurities into product that needs to be overcome when purification is scaled-up.  The research leading to the recognition of these problems and the steps taken to solve them in an imaginative way may form the basis of a strong inventive story which is worthy of patent protection, but one where an understanding of bioprocessing is needed to properly draft the strong patent applications.

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