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Womble Bond Dickinson advises on investment in Newcastle life sciences pioneer

19 Apr 2021

Womble Bond Dickinson has advised Mercia Fund Managers and Enterprise Ventures on the recent £5.25 million investment in Newcells Biotech, the Newcastle-based cell technology business. The Mercia-managed funds which participated in the fundraising included Northern VCTs and the North East Venture Fund, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia. Further funding was provided by the North East Innovation Fund, managed by Northstar Ventures.

Biologics, BARDA, pharmaceuticals, animal health, biotechnology, medical device, biodefense, and ANDA litigation.

WBD acts on the sale of pharma business Arcinova to Quotient Sciences

09 Feb 2021

WBD has advised Northumberland-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Arcinova on the sale of the business to Quotient Sciences.

WBD takes part in first virtual chemical sector expo in the North East

12 Nov 2020

Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) took part in an event hosted by NEPIC yesterday (11 November). NEPIC is the not-for-profit organisation that supports the needs and interests of the chemical industry and the wider processing sector in the North East of England.

Brexit and exhaustion of rights

10 Aug 2020

Parallel trade is the import (and export) of genuine goods protected by intellectual property ("IP") rights, and occurs where the IP rights are said to have been 'exhausted' – where the goods are put on the relevant market by, or with the consent of, the IP-right owner.

Brexit and patents

07 Aug 2020

The European patent regime is not an instrument of the European Union ("EU"). The European Patent Convention 2000 and its various protocols are not part of the accumulated body of EU law. The current membership of the European Patent Office numbers 38 countries, which is a far greater number than the current 28 member states of the EU. As a result, the European patent regime, of which the United Kingdom ("UK") is a part, will remain largely unaffected by Brexit. The UK's membership of the Patent Cooperation Treaty will also remain unaffected.

Brexit and designs

04 Aug 2020

The registered Community design ("RCD") system has allowed applicants to obtain a single design registration covering all European Union ("EU") member states rather than require them to seek national protection through separate intellectual property ("IP") offices. RCDs are multi-jurisdictional and unitary creations whereby the rights and scope of protection are indivisible. Accordingly, the rights under the RCD are tied directly to what constitutes the single market of the EU which underpins the development of the "Fortress Europe" doctrine allowing for the free movement of goods, but as a barrier to goods from outside the EU. The RCD gives broad protection for rights-holders by providing a basis for seeking and being granted EU-wide injunctions against infringers.

Brexit and trade marks

01 Aug 2020

For the past two decades, rather than having to seek only country by country protection through the separate national offices of the member states, prospective right-holders can now obtain – via a single application – a registration that, once granted, covers automatically all of the European Union ("EU") member states. Being a multi-jurisdictional unitary right, the scope of protection of an EU trade mark ("EUTM") is indivisible. Its nature is tied directly to what constitutes the single market of the EU, underpinning the development of "Fortress Europe" so as to facilitate the free movement of goods and to give broad protection for rights-holders through the grant of EU-wide injunctions against infringers.

UK Supreme Court gives a strict interpretation on the rules of sufficiency

13 Jul 2020

The UK's Supreme Court ("UKSC") has handed down its eagerly awaited judgment in the dispute between Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc ("Regeneron") and Kymab Limited ("Kymab"). The invention by Regeneron related to the creation of a type of transgenic mouse (the "VelocImmune") that is more effective in its receipt of human antibody genes, for the production of human antibodies. As such, this genetically modified mouse has been regarded as a major breakthrough in the field of bio pharmaceuticals. Nevertheless, despite such an advancement, the UKSC has held that the patents upon which Regeneron based its innovative platform are invalid for lack of sufficiency because the claims, as construed, would include a range of modified mice, some of which it would not have been possible to produce as at the priority date of February 2001.

Procedural errors by patent administrator cause SPC loss to Genentech

03 Jul 2020

In a recent patent case, the grant of a supplementary protection certificate ("SPC") – which gives up to five years' extra patent protection – was revoked by the UK High Court as a consequence of annuity fees being underpaid by a company's agent.

WBD advises on Molendotech funding to accelerate tests for harmful bacteria

11 May 2020

Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has advised Molendotech, a University of Plymouth spinout company, on securing an investment to speed the development of its novel bacteria-testing technology.

Related insights: Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals