Personalised medicine

Personalised medicine is transforming healthcare by tailoring treatments to specific patient populations, often based on genetic or other biomarker features. But while the science is moving fast, the patent landscape presents ongoing challenges.

At HGF, we advise clients on securing protection for personalised therapies, companion diagnostics, and patient stratification methods. Key issues in this space include differing approaches to diagnostic claims and novelty, particularly the concept of inherency in US law, compared to EPO standards. These differences are crucial when claiming treatments of newly identifiable patient groups who may have previously received a treatment without a formal diagnosis.

Our team has significant in-house experience in both small and large molecule drug development, particularly in oncology. We also understand the complexities of collaboration between pharma companies and diagnostic partners, and the contractual and IP issues these arrangements raise.

Whether advising on freedom-to-operate, licensing, or securing robust protection for personalised medicine, HGF brings legal expertise, sector insight, and commercial awareness to help clients in this evolving field.

Latest updates

Agritech Thymes: The Bite of Implied Consent: Lessons from the Pink Lady Case

Can the supply of a plant variety without clear and defined restrictions on its use be an implicit consent to commercialise it? This case centres on the evidence required to …

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The Bite of Implied Consent: Lessons from the Pink Lady Case

A recent European Union court decision considers the issue of implied consent to commercialise a plant variety, and whether the evidence meets the threshold of “serious doubts” of the validity …

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How France's investment in digital health, AI, and bioinformatics is transforming the intellectual property (IP) landscape

In recent years, France has become a key player in digital health innovation, driven by strategic government investments under the France 2030 initiative and the French Tech 2030 program. These …

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Agritech Thymes: A review of protection for gene edited plants

As we head into a new season, it’s a good time to revisit the current status of protection for Essentially Derived Varieties (EDVs) and plants derived from New Genomic Techniques …

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The Strawberry Patent Battle: Seeds, Speculation, and Jurisdiction

  This case, relating to infringement of a US plant patent, deals with the evidentiary burden required to show infringement of a plant patent in the US, as well as …

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The draft of The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025 reveals practical details on how to obtain a Precision Bred Organism status

In a recent blog post we discussed the Precision Breeding Regulatory Framework developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Further details on the application process for Precision Bred Organism confirmation …

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Regulation of NGT plants in Europe- Polish Presidency proposes an alternative solution to the Patent ban

In the latest development on the new proposed legislation for the regulation of NGT (gene-edited) plants in the EU, the Polish Presidency have proposed an amendment which removes the proposed …

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Can the Chancellor’s so-called “Europe’s Silicon Valley” really replicate the innovative activity of its namesake?

The Chancellor of the UK, Rachel Reeves, recently unveiled plans to deliver an Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor that promises to boost the UK economy by up to £78 billion by 2035.  …

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Let's talk

If you would like to discuss how HGF could help you, contact one of our personalised medicine specialists.