On March 7, a new series of Futurelab Talks were recorded before a live audience. The central theme was: Patenting Novel Medical Interventions. Three experts on intellectual property shared their experiences and some trade secrets. Andrea Kamage, patent group leader at Johnson & Johnson, Maurits Westerik, senior counsel at Bird & Bird, and Karin Verzijden, Food and pharma lawyer at Axon lawyers, talked about managing patent portfolios, enforcement of patents and licensing strategies. An additional speaker, Eline Bunnik, postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus MC, explained the need for drug regulation and the ethical considerations behind this regulation.

The Futurelab Talks, recorded specifically for the blended course programs at Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden, venture away from the traditional lectures and are a stage for experts to share their knowledge and experiences in an inspiring way. With only a handful of slides to assist them, the speakers took the stage and shared  their personal experiences with the audience.

Slide from the presentation of Andrea Kamage

The central theme of the day was intellectual property (IP) rights. A subject that is often overlooked in traditional life sciences studies, however, it is crucial for anyone who wants to bring a novel medical intervention to market. Especially for start-ups, the danger exists to focus solely on your research, however, obtaining the necessary patents should not be an afterthought. It is important to formulate an IP strategy early on and avoid crucial mistakes that may make it difficult to protect your invention in the future. Moreover, investors may be reluctant to invest in an invention for which the IP rights have not been obtained.

Getting started to obtain a patent can be a daunting task for small companies and start-ups who may not have the assets to employ outside help. To help researchers who are new to the world of intellectual property get a head start, Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden is creating a new blended course that introduces the crucial concepts of IP and focuses on the necessary steps to create a solid patent strategy worldwide. The talks presented on March 7 will be incorporated into the this course, which is currently under development. 

Andrea Kamage, Marutis Westerik, and Karin Verzijden are contributors for the course Intellectual Property and Eline Bunnik is a contributor for the course Market Approval. Both courses are currently under development by Paul Janssen Futurelab Leiden. As part of the course Intellectual Property, a free Patent Calculator has been created to help manage patent portfolios. Participants of the IP course will have access to additional features of this tool.