Universities and research institutes are where many of the most important advances in pharma and biotech begin. At Evolve, we help technology transfer offices, academic founders and research institutes protect that science in a way that makes it licensable, investable and ready for development.
For technology transfer offices with stretched teams, our fractional IP counsel model provides a named senior patent attorney who works as part of your team, triaging invention disclosures, managing portfolios and supporting licensing. Our own AI tools, developed by our attorneys specifically for pharma and biotech IP, help us assess the patentability and competitive landscape of new inventions quickly, while our attorneys make the judgement calls.
Protecting academic inventions
Academic research moves at the pace of publication. We work with you to identify inventions early and file before papers, posters, theses and conference presentations, so that disclosure does not destroy novelty. This matters most in Europe and other markets with no general grace period for your own disclosures, even though the US and Japan give some protection for an inventor’s own earlier disclosures. We also help you decide which inventions are worth patenting, and where and when to file, so that limited patent budgets are spent where they will add the most value.
Building IP that industry wants to license
Pharmaceutical companies and investors look for IP that covers a commercially viable product, is supported by data and gives a long period of protection. Our attorneys combine scientific expertise with in-house pharma experience, so we know how licensees assess academic IP. We can shape claims and filing strategies around the likely development path, and help you present your IP clearly in licensing discussions.
Spin-outs
For spin-outs, we help define what IP is licensed or assigned to the new company, review licence terms and set up an IP strategy that will stand up to investor due diligence. We can then continue to support the company as it grows (see Start-ups).
Inventorship, ownership and collaborations
Academic research often involves several institutions, funders and industry partners. We help you establish inventorship and ownership correctly, and review collaboration, material transfer and sponsored research agreements so that IP terms are clear from the start.
Fractional IP counsel
Why fractional IP counsel for universities? Technology transfer offices have to triage many invention disclosures on limited budgets. A fractional patent director from Evolve brings the real-world industry experience that you only get working in-house and knows what licensees will look for in your IP. With our team and AI tools behind them, including Franklin for publication review, they can move quickly where a lone consultant could not, with a commercial focus that a traditional IP firm rarely brings, and a global strategic approach.
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