At Evolve, we are passionate about the science and ensuring that IP is an enabler of your business goals. Biotech companies sit between discovery and commercialisation, and their IP strategy must support both the science and the next financing, partnership or exit. It is not enough merely to have patent filings. IP strategy must align to the long-term business goals of you and your investors.
Many biotech companies do not yet need a full in-house IP team. Our fractional IP counsel model gives you a named senior patent attorney as your head of IP, combining deep patent expertise with the strategic and commercial oversight of senior in-house counsel. We also build our own AI tools, developed by our attorneys specifically for pharma and biotech IP, so we can review more prior art, data and competitor filings, in more depth, while our attorneys make the judgement calls.
Build an IP portfolio that follows the science
Your IP will need to be tailored to the unique needs of your technology, whether that is a platform, a pipeline of clinical candidates or both. At Evolve we believe the best IP follows the science. Our attorneys combine scientific expertise with IP law to capture and protect the innovations at the heart of your business, and to translate them into compelling value propositions for investors and pharmaceutical partners.
We help you make the right strategic decisions on your IP, such as when and where to file, how to separate platform IP from product IP, and when to rely on trade secrets instead of patents. As your programmes move into the clinic, we help you capture clinical IP such as dosing regimens, patient subpopulations and combination therapies as the data emerges.
Partnering, licensing and financing
A robust IP portfolio gives your science credibility with investors and partners. We have extensive experience negotiating IP terms in high value pharma transactions, so we know first-hand how large pharmaceutical companies assess IP. We can help you articulate your IP strategy in initial discussions, prepare for due diligence and negotiate favourable terms in out-licensing and co-development deals.
Loss of exclusivity analysis
One of the first questions in any due diligence process is how well your product or platform is protected and for how long. We provide loss of exclusivity analysis covering current and future patent filings, regulatory exclusivities, supplementary protection certificates and trade secrets, and the likelihood of withstanding challenges from biosimilars and fast followers.
Competitive intelligence, mitigating risks and freedom to operate
We monitor the competitive landscape to identify IP risks and opportunities early, from an initial view of a field to deep dives into your technology areas of interest. To guide R&D decisions and investor due diligence, we conduct freedom to operate analyses, and we can handle contentious matters such as oppositions and appeals at the EPO and in other key markets.
Fractional IP counsel
Why fractional IP counsel for biotech companies? Biotech companies need senior IP leadership long before they can afford a full in-house team. Our patent directors have run IP inside pharma and biotech companies, so they bring the real-world industry experience that you only get working in-house to the board, the clinical team and partnering discussions. With our specialist team and AI tools behind them, they can cover drafting, prosecution, freedom to operate and diligence in a way no lone consultant can, with an involvement in the business that a traditional IP firm rarely offers, and a global strategic approach.
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