Alexander Robinson

Alex has substantial practice in contentious inter partes proceedings before the European Patent Office’s Opposition Division and Boards of Appeal, in both offensive and defensive matters. His experience includes defending commercially significant patents relating to authorised medicinal products against complex multi-party oppositions. He is a registered representative before the Unified Patent Court.

He also manages the prosecution of global patent portfolios relating to authorised medicinal products and drug candidates currently in advanced clinical trials. His practice therefore also extends to supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and associated regulatory matters such as data exclusivity and orphan designations, as well as providing opinions on infringement, validity and freedom to operate matters in relation to pharmaceuticals and diagnostic methods.

Other areas of practice include due diligence work in relation to patent licensing agreements and IP provisions in employment contracts.

His work has a particular focus on small molecule pharmaceuticals, dosage regimens, dosage forms, biomarkers and diagnostic techniques. However, with an interdisciplinary academic background spanning chemistry, chemical physics and molecular biology he also has experience in handling subject matter as diverse as enzyme replacement therapies, protein production techniques, CRISPR-Cas technology, polymers, inorganic semiconductor materials, OLEDs, and dye-sensitised solar cells.

Alongside his client work, Alex is a member of the editorial board of the Encyclopedia of UK and European Patent Law, which is updated twice a year with the latest developments in patent and SPC case law and practice before the patent offices and courts.

Alex holds a first class MChem degree in chemistry and a DPhil in biophysical chemistry, both from the University of Oxford; an MSc with distinction in molecular biology from the University of London; a Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law from Brunel University London; and a diploma in patent litigation in Europe from the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) at the University of Strasbourg. Alex has also recently gained the ‘Patent Litigation in Europe’ diploma from CEIPI.

Alex’s doctoral research focused on quantum entanglement phenomena in photoreceptor proteins implicated in the perception of magnetic fields by animals. He also spent time carrying out research at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris. More recently, his MSc included a dissertation based on comparative structural bioinformatics of cell invasion proteins from different species of the malaria parasite, using the AlphaFold AI to obtain insights into structural features.

Recent highlights have included:

• coordinating global patent prosecution for a small molecule drug candidate undergoing Phase II clinical trials;
• EPO opposition and appeal proceedings in relation to the defence of a patent portfolio covering an authorised pharmaceutical product with orphan designation;
• offensive opposition work in relation to landmark patents in the CRISPR-Cas field;
• providing sensitive due diligence advice in relation to a high-value patent licensing deal.

Alex is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and a member of the European Patent Institute (EPI). He is also a member of the Biochemical Society.