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

The quest to build heat-resistant vaccines

The quest to build heat-resistant vaccines

by Anja Koller

Forward speaks to Asel Sartbaeva, the co-inventor of a method to make temperature sensitive medicines withstand heat, with the potential to transform the way they are stored, transported and ...

The global boom in microbial crop solutions and what it means for your IP strategy

The global boom in microbial crop solutions and what it means for your IP strategy

by Ben Tolley

Experts predict that global food production will need to more than double in the next 25 years. There is no historical precedent for achieving growth of that magnitude in a single generation.

Dr James Kinross on the future of microbiome research

Dr James Kinross on the future of microbiome research

by Eliot Ward

Forward speaks to Dr James Kinross about the latest themes in research, the insights from his academic career and his ‘bonkers’ secret to a healthy gut. Forward: features are independent pieces ...

What the EU’s New Genomic Techniques (NGT) Regulation Means for Plant Innovators

What the EU’s New Genomic Techniques (NGT) Regulation Means for Plant Innovators

by Louise Atkins

The European Parliament will cast its final vote on the EU’s new regulatory framework for plants developed using New Genomic Techniques (NGTs). This vote follows the provisional agreement reached ...

BioTryp’s radical new treatment for bacterial infection

BioTryp’s radical new treatment for bacterial infection

by Louise Atkins

Cambridge University spin-out BioTryp is developing inhibitors that disrupt a signalling mechanism of bacteria to prevent the formation of biofilms, thereby reducing infection. Forward: features are ...

We are a leading force in EPO oppositions

We are a leading force in EPO oppositions

by Alex Galbraith

When it comes to opposing or defending European patents, experience matters. A look at our track record across both offensive and defensive oppositions over the last 12 years highlights not only the ...

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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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