PHARMACEUTICAL IP

Biologics

At Evolve we have specialist knowledge of the unique requirements of IP strategy for large molecule pharmaceuticals and biologics, including therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, T-cell engagers (TCEs), antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and nucleic acid-based therapies.

We are dedicated to developing IP strategies that match the scientific and business vision for your products. The Evolve team provides a fantastic combination of both chemistry and biology scientific expertise that ensures that your innovations benefit from a high-level of IP protection.

Technology insights...

Twisting strand of gold beads with a turquoise section on dark blue, Evolve biotechnology image
Twisting strand of gold beads with a turquoise section on dark blue, Evolve biotechnology image

AI for patent sequences: Avoiding costly sequence errors

A single wrong residue can mean a patent does not cover the product. Evolve’s AI Sequence Agents build ST.26 listings in code, check every residue, keep the claims covering the lead in line with the IP strategy from drafting to grant, and check the sequences in granted patents.
Single cut gold stone glowing turquoise at its heart on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image
Single cut gold stone glowing turquoise at its heart on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image

Prophetic prior art and the common light chain mouse (T 0527/24)

Kymab is famous as the Cambridge antibody mouse company that fought Regeneron all the way to the UK Supreme Court, and won, on sufficiency (no mean feat, given the very strict approach the UK courts have taken to the sufficiency test for pharmaceutical inventions in recent years). In T 0527/24, Kymab was on the other…
Stack of gold plates fanning open around a turquoise light on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image
Stack of gold plates fanning open around a turquoise light on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image

Claim construction checkpoints: Application as filed versus granted patent (T 0715/24)

G 1/24 requires that the description must always be “consulted” to interpret a claim. The question remains whether a definition in the description can override an otherwise clear meaning in the claims. In T 0715/24, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) sought to persuade the Board of Appeal that a negative feature, read together with a paragraph of…
Nested gold frames with a glowing turquoise centre on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image
Nested gold frames with a glowing turquoise centre on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image

Human definitions versus biological reality (T 630/24)

As the recent furore over claim interpretation and description amendments illustrates, patent attorneys love nothing more than to argue about the meaning of words. As we know, words are contextual things, and can shift their meaning depending on the words around them and the perspective of the reader. Definitions are particularly unstable in biological sciences,…
Straight gold ladder with one glowing turquoise rung on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image.
Straight gold ladder with one glowing turquoise rung on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image.

Sequence identities and functional definitions – where is the limit? (T 0137/24)

Biotechnology patents often rely on defining protein and nucleic acid features by their sequence identity. However, it is often not necessary to define the exact sequence, but instead to define the sequence according to a limit of sequence identity, e.g. a sequence having a 90% sequence identity to a specified sequence.
Gold band splitting into three branches at a turquoise junction on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image
Gold band splitting into three branches at a turquoise junction on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image

UPC Court of Appeal tackles broad functional antibody claims (UPC_CoA_529/2024)

The global litigation saga involving Amgen’s PCSK9 antibodies has long served as a high-stakes test case for jurisdictional approaches to broad, functionally defined antibody claims. Following the US Supreme Court’s landmark finding of lack of enablement in Amgen v Sanofi, and the UPC Munich Central Division’s initial revocation of the equivalent European patent, all eyes…
Gold strands braiding into one cord with a turquoise join on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image
Gold strands braiding into one cord with a turquoise join on dark blue, Evolve abstract article image

EPO pharma case law trends 2025: Antibodies and biologics

The science of biologics is rapidly progressing, with the development of ever more complex protein structures, incorporation of molecules into cell therapies and the increasing use of AI-assisted design and in silico modelling. Patent law must respond to these new challenges. What better time to take a look at the trends from the EPO case…
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