Fran Salisbury

Frances (Fran) is a highly respected leader in intellectual property (IP) law, with substantial experience across a broad spectrum of sectors, particularly in life sciences.

As Women’s Champion and a founding member and leader of WoMEn (the Women of Mewburn Ellis Network), she has been instrumental in advancing the visibility and representation of women within the firm.

Recognised as one of WIPR's Diversity 2023 “Influential Women in IP”, she is an active advocate for diversity, championing women innovators and founders, and raising awareness of the significant challenges they face, including receiving only 2% of venture capital funding and representing only 1 in 7 inventors on European patent applications.

As a co-founder of the Women in IP and Innovation LinkedIn group, Fran works tirelessly to foster a network that supports women in this sector.

In addition to her leadership role within WoMEn, Fran is an active participant in the AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association) Women in IP Committee, where she is involved in shaping the Personal and Professional Development Subcommittee, including initiatives like the menopause initiative, aimed at supporting women in the workplace.

Clients

Fran’s expertise spans a wide range of industries and sectors. She works with clients of all sizes, from individual inventors to multinational life sciences companies, with a particular focus on helping startups build and scale their IP portfolios. Her approach combines deep strategic insight with a flexible mindset to navigate the unique challenges startups face, particularly in high-stakes environments where agility and long-term vision are crucial.

Fran thrives on the challenge of advising clients about their portfolio development, guiding them from the ground up to ensure their IP strategy aligns with their business objectives. This means that she works in a highly collaborative way to ensure she both completes the task at hand and supports with strategy development for the overall benefit of the business.

Her work is global in scope, with a particular focus on both the US and Singapore markets. She has gained valuable experience through regular interactions with these jurisdictions, including a Seattle internship, her active membership in AIPLA, and frequent visits to both regions. This extensive exposure allows her to understand in depth the nuances of both these markets and tailor strategies that fit both local and international contexts. Fran also works closer to home in Manchester and is one of the founding members of our BioSocial NW group that meets regularly there on an informal basis to discuss ideas, thoughts and innovations on the Manchester biotech scene.

Fran also plays a key role in helping clients prepare for significant investment. She has substantial experience in IP Due Diligence and Freedom to Operate, helping companies align their IP strategies to attract investors and safeguard investments. She’s adept at identifying the necessary steps to ensure that small companies are positioned for growth, recently supporting a successful investment of $70m for ClavystBio. 

Technical Background

Her technical expertise spans a wide array of innovative fields, such as personalised medicine, antigen-binding molecules (including aptamers and antibodies), cell therapies (including CAR-T and TCRs), women’s health, and plant science (including patents, plant variety rights and national listings), bringing a wealth of knowledge to clients in each of these sectors. This follows on from her BSc degree in biological sciences at the University of Bristol and subsequent PhD in plant molecular genetics from the University of Edinburgh.

In addition to her technical expertise, Fran is passionate about collaborative approaches to IP strategy advice. She believes in understanding the specific needs of her clients to provide tailored advice that fits their broader business strategy. Her goal is to complete the task at hand and to ensure that the advice she offers aligns with the client's vision, helping them achieve the results they truly need.

Her personal and professional ethos is grounded in a desire to collaborate and deliver IP solutions that closely meet the needs of her clients, ensuring they are well-positioned for growth, investment, and success.

Oppositions cases:

EP2172566 – Somologic, Inc. case relating to methods for generating slow off-rate aptamers where Fran successfully defended against a “strawman” opponent.

Recommendations

“Navigating the patent process can be challenging as a startup, so having the right guidance is essential.  Fran became an integral part of our team, working as if she was in-house.  She didn’t just write patent applications for us – she helped us to think strategically about our entire portfolio to ensure that every patent fitted into a bigger picture to help support our competitive position. One of Fran’s strengths is her ability to tell us what we need, but just as importantly what we don’t.  She focuses on securing the right protection, without unnecessary filings, to make sure that our IP investments align with the business objectives.  Her proactive approach and deep expertise have been invaluable in building a strong, focussed patent portfolio that supports both our science and our business.” - Reuben Dawkins, CEO of Link Biologics