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Dr Bobby Mukherjee, Chief Counsel, IP & Technology Law – BAE Systems plc and Past President (2012-2014) of the IP Federation. He was the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) President for 2025. He previously served and currently sits on CIPA Council, and chaired the CIPA Internal Governance Committee in its formative stage.

Bobby is a qualified UK and European patent attorney with over 28 years’ experience of IP gained in private practice and at BAE Systems plc. He is currently the Head of IP (2009 -) at BAE Systems plc (a FTSE 30 company), which has one of the largest in-house IP teams in the UK.

Bobby has been named a Corporate IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property every year since 2015.

Simon has a Chemistry (with Biochemistry) degree from Bristol University and qualified as a UK patent attorney in 1990. He became a European Patent Attorney in 1992 while with Kilburn & Strode and joined J A Kemp in 1994. He became a partner in J A Kemp’s biotechnology group in 2005 and moved to Schlich on the south coast in January 2022.

Simon handles patent and trade mark work in a wide variety of life science, chemical and pharma fields, including stem cells, human genes and genomics, drug delivery systems, contrast agents, GM crops, algae technology and CRISPR technology. He also handles mechanical work ranging from drones to electric vehicle charging. He works for a broad variety of clients ranging from individuals, SMEs and private clients up to UK universities and biotechnology start-ups. He also acts for EU and US genomics and academic institutions.

Simon chaired CIPA’s Life Sciences Committee for 20 years and relinquished that role earlier this year. He still Chairs the epi Biotech committee. He is a member of CIPA’s Council, Patents Committee and International Liaison Committee. He is a member of epi Council and the By-Laws committee and has been selected to be a member of SACEPO.

He is currently the President of CIPA for 2026.

He enjoys wine, gigs, playing the sax, running and cycling.

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Jodie Albutt, VP, IP at Quell Therapeutics, is a Chartered (UK) and European Patent Attorney with extensive experience of intellectual property in the cell and gene therapy field.

She joined Quell in 2019 after leaving her role as Head of Intellectual Property at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, where she had been leading the IP team for more than 4 years. Jodie is responsible for IP strategy, diligence and FTO at Quell and was the internal IP counsel for Quell’s Series B and partnering deals.

Prior to her time in-house, Jodie worked for fourteen years in the biotech team at private practice patent attorney firm Dehns in London, looking after IP on behalf of multinational companies, SMEs and Universities.

Jodie has a BSc from Imperial College, London and a PhD in molecular biology from King’s College, London.

Andy is currently Assistant General Counsel, IP at AstraZeneca, where I sit on AZ’s Global IP leadership team. I have global accountability for and oversight of AZ’s IP strategy across our entire Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM) and Neuroscience therapy areas, as well as for all of AZ’s Digital and AI activities. I am a dual-qualified UK/EP patent attorney and UK Solicitor, and on reflection my career path has been a little bit unconventional. Having initially studied law, in the mid-1990s I qualified as a solicitor and worked for many years as an employment lawyer. But I’d always had a passion for science, and so whilst still working as a lawyer, I completed a BSc in chemistry at the Open University and then left law to do a PhD in organic chemistry. I then plunged myself fully into science, joining AZ as a medicinal chemist in 2005. It was whilst working in the AZ labs that I realised you could combine law and science into a single career. I therefore joined AZ’s IP team in 2010. Twenty years and counting at AZ and I am still loving it!

Sally brings over 25 years of extensive experience across both private practice and in-house roles, most recently leading GSK’s Global Pharma Patents team. Prior to her tenure at GSK, Sally held significant IP leadership roles at AstraZeneca for over a decade and served as Head of IP for a UK biotech. Her expertise spans the entire patent life cycle, from early-stage R&D to end of patent life, and Sally and her teams have been responsible for building and defending patent portfolios for multi-billion dollar assets across the biopharmaceutical industry. With significant exposure to M&A and licensing deals Sally has built a wealth of experience across patent and other exclusivities that define Loss of Exclusivity (LoE) for an asset.

Jackie Mulryne is a Life Sciences Regulatory Partner at Morgan Lewis. She provides regulatory, policy and compliance advice to clients in the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors, and advises on complex regulatory issues that arise throughout the product life cycle. She regularly develops strategies to help bring innovative products to market, and to maximise regulatory protections given the overlap with IP rights. Jackie specialises in contentious disputes in the sector, and has extensive experience in public and administrative law litigation arising from the decisions of regulatory bodies.

Lee joined Greaves Brewster in 2021 as a Director specialising in biological and life science technologies, especially advanced cell and gene therapies. He is a Chartered UK Patent Attorney, a European Patent Attorney, and a Higher Courts Patent Attorney Litigator. He has a degree in Physiological Sciences and a DPhil in Reproductive Endocrinology, both from the University of Oxford.

Lee moved to Greaves Brewster from the UK Biotech company, Celixir, where he was the Global Head of Discovery Science and Intellectual Property. He was not only primarily responsible for all IP strategy and management but also for discovering advanced therapies for serious diseases, especially heart disease and cancer, and supporting the pre-clinical development, manufacturing, and regulatory parts of the business. He enjoys leveraging his unique in-house experience to provide clients with tailored and pragmatic IP solutions, including insightful advice on how best to develop a complete IP portfolio that meets the needs of shareholders, Board members, potential investors, and collaborators, and how IP most appropriately fits within a company’s drug development plan.

Lee started his career at another private practice firm where he became a Partner and handled a variety of biological and life science subject matters. He has particular expertise in genes, proteins, gene and viral therapies, cell therapies, regenerative medicine, stem cells, therapeutic cloning, neurological diseases, molecular biology, CRISPR, multiplex assays and diagnostics, and nucleic acid sequencing, especially nanopore sequencing.

Mike is the owner and founder of Park Grove IP, and is a UK and European Patent Attorney with over 25 years of experience. Mike has particular experience and expertise in pharma-related IP issues. He is also a member of CPIA’s Life Sciences Committee.

Mike has authored articles on a range of topics and is a contributor (on SPCs) to both the CIPA Guide to the Patents Act and the European Patents Handbook. Mike is also the author of an amicus curiae for G 1/24, which argued that the legal basis for basis for claim interpretations at the EPO is found in a general principle of law, and not in Article 69 and/or Article 84 EPC.

Karen is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC, International Coaching Federation), with a 25+ year background as a patent attorney, including senior leadership roles. Very aware of the vulnerabilities that lie at the heart of a scientist/lawyer/perfectionist, she works mainly with clients in the patent and legal sectors (in-house and private practice) at all levels (trainee, newly qualified, post qualified and partner/VP) to tackle obstacles that may be getting in their way or holding them back, including: mindset, confidence, communication style, executive presence, and imposter syndrome.

EILEEN BRANDENBURGER, PhD is a European Patent Attorney and most recently was Head of IP at Recursion Pharmaceuticals (previously Exscientia AI) a NASDAQ listed AI-enabled TechBio company, developing precision designed personalised medicine. In this role she was responsible for IP strategy and transactions. Eileen gained more than a decade of experience in academic research, technology transfer, private practice and in-house where she worked at the interface of pharma, biotech and AI.

Alexandra is head of Stephenson Harwood’s cross-practice Life Sciences and Healthcare group.

She is an intellectual property solicitor and has degrees in both law and chemistry. Alexandra advises clients on licensing, partnering, collaboration and other strategic and commercial agreements, and on the IP aspects of mergers, acquisitions and investments.

She also advises clients in relation to IP disputes, particularly those arising from licensing/partnering deals, whether in court litigation or in arbitration.

Alexandra has a particular interest in using her litigation experience to inform the negotiation and drafting of transaction documents and vice versa.

Alexandra has been awarded the Lexology Client Choice Award for healthcare and life sciences UK, named in The Lawyer “Hot 100” Dealmakers and in Managing Intellectual Property’s Top 250 Women in IP.

Her write-up in the most recent IAM Patent 1000 said: “Working with Alexandra is always enjoyable. You know you’re getting expert advice that is helpfully tailored to the specific circumstance of your business, which is especially helpful when dealing with stressful matters. She knows exactly when to dig into the details and when to look at the big picture, and is highly appreciated for her business-oriented mindset and understanding of how to commercialise and add value through leveraging intellectual assets.

Marc received his PhD from the laboratory of Dr John Maher at King’s College London, where his research focussed on the development and pre-clinical assessment of CAR T-cells targeting the extended ErbB family. The resulting product is currently under investigation in an investigator-led Phase I clinical trial for patients with relapsed/refractory head and neck cancer. Following a post-doctoral position at University College London developing CAR T-cells for haematological malignancies, Marc returned to KCL where his research focussed on enhancing CAR T-cell efficacy against solid tumours. Marc joined Leucid Bio in May 2021 as VP of R&D, to manage their burgeoning pipeline and clinical translation of their lead asset for the treatment of solid tumours, LEU011, which he had originally developed during his academic research. This asset is now under investigation in first-in-man Phase I/II clinical trial for solid tumours.

Simon has a Chemistry (with Biochemistry) degree from Bristol University and qualified as a UK patent attorney in 1990. He became a European Patent Attorney in 1992 while with Kilburn & Strode and joined J A Kemp in 1994. He became a partner in J A Kemp’s biotechnology group in 2005 and moved to Schlich on the south coast in January 2022.

Simon handles patent and trade mark work in a wide variety of life science, chemical and pharma fields, including stem cells, human genes and genomics, drug delivery systems, contrast agents, GM crops, algae technology and CRISPR technology. He also handles mechanical work ranging from drones to electric vehicle charging. He works for a broad variety of clients ranging from individuals, SMEs and private clients up to UK universities and biotechnology start-ups. He also acts for EU and US genomics and academic institutions.

Simon chaired CIPA’s Life Sciences Committee for 20 years and relinquished that role earlier this year. He still Chairs the epi Biotech committee. He is a member of CIPA’s Council, Patents Committee and International Liaison Committee. He is a member of epi Council and the By-Laws committee and has been selected to be a member of SACEPO.

He is currently the President of CIPA for 2026.

He enjoys wine, gigs, playing the sax, running and cycling.

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Dr Bobby Mukherjee, Chief Counsel, IP & Technology Law – BAE Systems plc and Past President (2012-2014) of the IP Federation. He was the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) President for 2025. He previously served and currently sits on CIPA Council, and chaired the CIPA Internal Governance Committee in its formative stage.

Bobby is a qualified UK and European patent attorney with over 28 years’ experience of IP gained in private practice and at BAE Systems plc. He is currently the Head of IP (2009 -) at BAE Systems plc (a FTSE 30 company), which has one of the largest in-house IP teams in the UK.

Bobby has been named a Corporate IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property every year since 2015.

Before becoming epi President in 2023, Peter was Chair of the epi Litigation Committee and epi Treasurer. As delegate he represents epi as observer at the UPC Administrative Committee. Peter is a European and a Swiss Patent Attorney, and he has been working in the Intellectual Property Function in the Healthcare Industry from 2001 to 2024 where he became involved in a considerable number of questions around regulatory exclusivities and Patent Term Extensions, including SPC Cases up to the level of CJEU. Peter has also gained considerable experience with the Convention of Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from utilisation of Genetic Resources. Since 2012 he has been focusing on IP-policy work, where he became from 20216-2024 chairman of the IP Expert Group of Swiss overall industry association economiesuisse. He studied biotechnological sciences at the Technical University Braunschweig (Germany), acquired Diploma in European Patent Litigation by CEIPI. He regularly gives lectures and is a co-author of several books in the patent field.

Bethan is a patent litigator with a practice focusing on complex IP disputes.  Having studied molecular biology at degree and doctorate level she has particular expertise in the life sciences sector but also represents clients in cases covering a wide range of other technical areas, such as electronics and mechanical engineering, and advises on SEP/FRAND disputes. A significant aspect of Bethan’s practice involves the strategic coordination of multi-jurisdictional patent disputes.  She frequently spearheads the coordination of large-scale litigation programs advising in respect of parallel actions before the European Patent Office and national courts in Europe, the US and beyond. This multijurisdictional angle to her work also now includes advising clients on actions before the Unified Patent Court.

Bethan is a Member of AIPPI, CIPA and LSLA and tutors on the Oxford University Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property & Practice. She has been recognised as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500, by JUVE Patent as Leading Individual, Patent Litigation UK, and as a WIPR Leader. She is also listed / recommended IAM Patent 1000: World’s Leading Patent Professionals, IAM Strategy 300: World Leading Strategists and Who’s Who Legal – IP-Patents and Life Sciences.

David Resnick works with startup and established life sciences companies, as well as major U.S. research institutions, to develop comprehensive patent strategies to protect their intellectual property.

David’s practice is focused on strategic portfolio management, patent prosecution, transactional matters and associated client counseling. He manages the patent portfolios of some of the leading U.S. research institutions and domestic and international corporations. David also represents some of the world’s most recognized life sciences corporations before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has an extensive background in the life sciences space and has particular experience in the areas of microbiome related technologies, pharmacogenomics, disease biomarkers, proteomics, tissue engineering, gene therapy, regenerative medicine, drug delivery systems, stem cells, angiogenesis modulation, cancer vaccines, oncology, immune modulation, medical devices, and diagnostics.

David also regularly assists clients in building and evaluating their intellectual property portfolios as well as in evaluating the intellectual property held by competitors. He regularly conducts freedom-to-operate analyses and prepare infringement and validity opinions involving complex and cutting-edge technologies.

David also assists clients with patent prosecution in the areas of; microbiome related technologies including probiotics and prebiotics, molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry and immunology, pharmaceuticals, including oncology, diagnostics, stem cells/regenerative medicine, medical devices and microfluidic devices.

David has written articles on patent prosecution practice, personalized medicine and technology issues for Nature Biotechnology, The Journal of Biolaw & Business, Personalized Medicine and other publications. He also is a member of the editorial board of Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst.

Charlie French is a partner specialising in patent litigation at Bristows LLP. She has a particular interest in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, stemming from her background in biochemistry and molecular biology, and has represented clients in complex patent litigation before the Patents Court (High Court) and Court of Appeal and arbitration arising from licensing disputes. In addition, Charlie works closely with lawyers, patent attorneys and regulatory advisors in multiple jurisdictions to coordinate multinational patent litigation strategies for clients.

Alongside assisting clients to achieve their goals in litigation, Charlie is one of the authors of Bristows’ annual Patent Review of the Year, UPC Review and Biotech Review publications, regularly speaks on UPC and UK case law topics and co-hosts a UPC podcast (‘You, me and the UPC’). She is also actively involved in Bristows’ Diversity & Inclusion group and co-heads Bristows’ Families & Carers Network.

Charlie currently serves on the CIPA Life Sciences Committee and is a member of the council of the IP Federation.

Abi is a Partner in the Life Sciences and Chemistry team at Kilburn & Strode and a UPC representative. She leverages her experience in biologics and cancer research for clients across the life sciences sector, with deep expertise in antibodies, vaccine technologies and next-generation sequencing. Abi’s expertise encompasses complex prosecution matters, commercially critical oppositions, and worldwide IP portfolio management. A speciality is working closely with start-up leadership teams, where she acts as a strategic partner to develop IP strategies aligned with business objectives.