First and foremost, at Evolve we are passionate about the science and ensuring that IP is an enabler of your business goals. We believe that a key to a successful IP strategy is recognising that not all IP is equal. It is not enough merely to have patent filings, IP strategy must align to the long-term business goals of you and your investors.
Manage and develop your IP portfolio
There is no one-size-fits-all IP strategy for early-stage companies. Your IP will need to be tailored to the unique needs of your technology. At Evolve we believe the best IP follows the science and our scientific and legal expertise ensures that we can capture and protect the innovations at the heart of your business. Our attorneys combine scientific expertise with IP law to translate complex innovations into compelling value propositions that resonate with investors, venture capital firms and pharmaceutical partners.
At Evolve we also know that an effective IP strategy is not just about filing patents. We will help you make the right strategic decisions on your IP, such as when and where to file patents for your technology and deciding between trade secret versus patent protection. In this way, we ensure that you maximise the return on your IP investment. IP strategy must also adapt to the needs of the business. We can help ensure your IP strategy remains cost effective and responsive to your investment cycles and product development processes.
Deal making and investment
A robust IP portfolio is essential for start-ups navigating the high-risk journey from discovery to commercialisation. Your innovative science gains substantial credibility when protected by an IP strategy that addresses regulatory and scalability challenges. This is particularly true for biotech start-ups. Our attorneys can help translate your scientific breakthroughs into an IP strategy that demonstrates your clear market differentiation and value to investors. We have developed proven strategies for effectively communicating IP in a manner tailored to investors and the decision makers in large pharmaceutical companies.
Loss of exclusivity analysis
One of the first questions in any due diligence process concerns how well a company’s product or platform is protected and for what duration. At Evolve, we provide comprehensive loss of exclusivity analysis for potential investors, buyers, and collaborators. Our assessment encompasses current and future patent filings, regulatory protections, trade secrets, and the likelihood of withstanding challenges from generic/biosimilar products and fast-following competitors. We invest the time to thoroughly understand your technology, evaluating how both current and emerging regulatory landscapes will shape market dynamics and inform optimal IP strategy development. We help you communicate to your investors, collaborators and business leaders the ways in which your IP strategy is focused on ensuring market protection and return on investment.
Competitive intelligence, mitigating risks and freedom to operate
IP strategy can be as much about keeping informed of the competition as it is about building your own portfolio. We can monitor and assess the competitive landscape to identify potential IP risks and opportunities, from providing an earlier view on the landscape to deep dives into your technology areas of interest.
To help guide business decisions and investor due diligence processes, we can conduct freedom-to-operate analyses to ensure your research and development activities do not infringe on the IP rights of others. We can also handle any contentious matters that arise, such as patent infringement claims or oppositions, and develop strategies to resolve them effectively.
At Evolve we have extensive experience negotiating IP terms in high value transactions and therefore have first-hand knowledge of how to build and communicate an IP strategy that will help drive your success. With our extensive experience of negotiating IP terms in successful pharma sector deals, we can help you articulate your IP strategy to larger pharmaceutical companies and investors during initial discussions and full deal negotiations. We can help you negotiate favourable terms in out-licensing and co-development deals to maximise your return on investment and protect your rights.
Building an IP aware culture
IP strategy works best when it is integrated and aligned with the priorities of your company. Working with Evolve, you will benefit from an IP aware business culture that ensures your scientists and leaders understand the importance of IP, invention disclosure processes, and the need to protect confidential information. We can help you develop IP policies and procedures to provide clear guidelines for IP creation, ownership, and protection within your organisation.
Fractional IP counsel
Why fractional IP counsel for start-ups? Most start-ups cannot justify a full-time head of IP, but every early decision on what to file, when and where shapes the value of the company. Our fractional IP counsel model gives you a named senior patent attorney as your head of IP, on a flexible basis that scales with your funding rounds. Our patent directors bring the real-world industry experience that you only get working in-house, and can talk to investors in their language. Our own AI tools, developed by our attorneys specifically for pharma and biotech IP, let us cover more ground, such as prior art, landscapes and competitor filings, without the cost growing at the same rate, while our attorneys make the judgement calls. Behind your head of IP is a specialist team that a lone consultant cannot offer, with an in-house perspective that a traditional IP firm rarely has, so your first portfolio is built with a global strategic approach from day one.
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