Andrew Williams

Andrew leads our ‘Speciality Pharma’ team – which is focused particularly on strategic and commercial aspects relating to new medicinal products – from early development through worldwide launch and beyond. He focuses principally on Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs), Patent Term Extensions (PTEs), Paediatric Extensions, Regulatory Protection, Patent-Regulatory Listings, alongside strategic advice on exclusivity maximisation and risk mitigation starting from the earliest stage of drug development.

Andrew supports all stages of the product lifecycle for pharma & life science products, taking account of commercial, practical and real-world considerations to deliver clear and practical advice.

Building on Andrew’s unique experience of 10 years’ in-house IP experience at a leading global biopharmaceutical firm and 5 years’ experience at Mewburn Ellis - he now supports many innovative medicinal products on a European or worldwide basis.

Andrew has experience of taking a new medicinal product along the full journey from first patent draft to beyond worldwide launch, covering all IP aspects arising along the way. He has experience of supporting a broad range of medicinal products, including small molecules, antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) e.g. cell therapies.

As well as the focus on drug product ‘exclusivity’, Andrew has broader experience with IP portfolio reviews and rationalisations, agreements (collaborations, licences, deal structures, etc.) due diligences, negotiations and so on. He has managed and advised on significant contentious freedom-to-operate (FTO) issues, taken a lead role in IP dispute resolutions and has managed multi-jurisdictional IP litigation-related activities. He has also advised extensively on matters related to Orphan Drug Exclusivity. This has included written and oral proceedings with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in relation to the EU’s Orphan Drug regime.

Areas of Expertise

• Strategic analysis and advice for innovative medicinal products relating to exclusivity maximisation and risk mitigation
• Pharmaceutical products - including small molecules, antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs)
• Patent Term Extensions (PTEs), Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) and Paediatric Extensions
• Regulatory Protection for medicinal products
• Patent-Regulatory Linkage mechanisms for medicinal products

Clients

Andrew’s clients range from largest, well-known global pharma companies, through to the smallest pharma and life-science firms that are still working towards the launch of their first drug product.

Background

Andrew has a first-class degree from the University of Oxford and a PhD from the University of Bristol. Prior to embarking on his IP career, Andrew started his career as a scientist at AstraZeneca, before moving into IP. Andrew is dual-qualified as both a UK and European Patent Attorney. He joined Mewburn Ellis in 2020 and became a Partner in 2023.