The term Life Sciences refers to the study, development and production of health and quality-of-life enhancing goods and services. Biotech companies are part of the life sciences market.

The first patents for recombinant proteins (insulin, interferons, somatostatin) were filed in the late 1970s. Since then, major R&D investments have led to constant industry growth and the creation of biotech companies in the medical, food, environmental, agricultural, and animal husbandry sectors.

First established to provide intellectual property rights to inventions in the mechanical field and subsequently in the chemical and physical-electronic industries, the patent system has more recently had to adapt to take on board the new problems associated with patent protection of living matter, introducing special regulations, conventions and international treaties.

As well as expertise in microbiology, biochemistry, biophysics and chemistry, a biotech intellectual-property consultant must therefore also have extensive knowledge of the ethical and regulatory issues specific to patents in the life sciences industry.

Our long experience working closely with renowned public and private, national and international research institutes, large industrial concerns, but also start-ups, means we can offer across-the-board expert assistance in all biotechnology intellectual property matters.

We have handled client briefs in the field of monoclonal antibodies (the first patent filed by the firm was in 1980), probiotics, diagnostic markers, recombinant proteins, mRNA and OMV vaccines, fermentation processes, and high-throughput screening, to name but a few.