How can I help your business

• Guide clients through the identification, drafting and worldwide prosecution of life sciences patent applications, with expertise in genetic technologies.
• Provide strategy advice on your IP portfolio, including preparing IP strategy reports for investors, granting bodies and other stakeholders, preparing IP audits, and providing patentability and freedom to operate opinions.
• Advise, file and prosecute Plant Breeders’ Rights in the UK and Europe.

Overview & Expertise

Andrea is a Chartered (UK) and European Patent Attorney, UPC Representative and a Partner in the Cambridge office of Marks & Clerk.

Andrea has over 15 years’ experience in drafting and prosecuting applications in the life sciences field. As Head of Marks & Clerk’s Lifesciences Agritech practice, a significant amount of Andrea’s practice is in drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications worldwide covering genetically modified organisms, and in particular genetically modified plants. Andrea consequently has obtained patent protection for many important plant traits, including transgenic and gene edited plants that are currently in field trials. Andrea also regularly advises on obtaining plant variety rights both in the UK and internationally.

Andrea has experience managing complex global patent portfolios in the sequencing technology space, and advising on patent protection for genomic biomarkers, diagnostic assays and other precision medicine technologies across a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Andrea graduated from the University of Warwick with a First-Class Honours degree in Biology before completing a PhD at the University of Cambridge, where her research focused on the role of protein clearance pathways in the development of neurodegenerative disorders. She also holds an MSc in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary University of London and is the first author of a publication in Nature Chemical Biology.

Andrea was recognised as a Recommended Practitioner in The Legal 500 2024.

Client Work & Case Experience

• Nucleic acid sequencing technology – capturing, drafting and prosecuting patent applications worldwide in a crowded and competitive technology space.
• Genetic technologies - advising research institutes and start-ups throughout the innovation lifecycle, from capturing inventions and developing effective IP protection strategies to drafting and prosecuting patent applications, navigating jurisdictional-specific IP challenges, preparing IP strategy reports and audits for stakeholders, and conducting due diligence.
• In-house training – regularly deliver customised and tailored in-house IP training programmes for organisations ranging from multinational companies and start-ups to universities and research institutes.