Biotech clusters with patent strategies are more attractive to big pharma

Life sciences and biotech research clusters across the UK are benefiting from an improved funding climate and on-going consolidation in the pharmaceutical sector, but those with strategic intellectual property plans are likely to find favor with big pharma, according to Withers & Rogers patent and trade mark attorneys.

Improving access to venture capital in particular, is allowing biotech companies to take their research past the initial stages and turn it into an attractive investment proposition for big pharma. However, strategic intellectual property plans are critical and underpin any investment decision.

John Dean, partner and patent attorney at Withers & Rogers, said: “Big pharma is struggling to develop new drugs at a rate quick enough to fill their pipeline, as this process typically can take up to 15 years. As a result, cluster companies find themselves in a strong position to attract investment in exchange for providing a ready-made pipeline of candidate drugs to replace some of the blockbusters which are currently losing their 20-year patent protection. However, in order to benefit, cluster companies must have a robust patent strategy in place. Without this, they could miss out on investment opportunities.”