Sean Constable

Sean handles mainly life sciences patent work with experience in a range of sectors including gene editing and antibody therapeutics.  He also has particular experience working in-house at a clinical-stage UK biopharmaceutical company.  Sean represents clients in a number of multi-party opposition cases before the European Patent Office.

Areas of Expertise

• Gene editing – including methods and therapeutic uses involving zinc finger nucleases and CRISPR/Cas
• Antibody therapeutics – particularly in the oncology and immuno-oncology field
• Antibody production and purification technologies
• Protein engineering – especially enzymes involved in industrial fermentation
  

Clients

Sean works closely with biopharmaceutical companies in the UK and US, particularly with companies underaking drug discovery and development.  He also works closely with a number of UK universities and technology transfer organisations.

Background

Sean has a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry with a Year in Industry from Imperial College London.  He also has a Ph.D. in Developmental Neurobiology from University College London. His doctoral research focussed on investigating the role of various transcription factors underlying nervous system development and involved the use of gene editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas. 

He joined Mewburn Ellis LLP in 2014, qualifying as a Chartered Patent Attorney and a European Patent Attorney in 2018.

Sean has been seconded to a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, UK, spending two days a week there for around twelve months. During this time he supported the company with their patent portfolio, drafted new patent applications and carried out patent landscaping and associated due diligence.

Sean has also spent two months based at a US intellectual property firm located in the Bay Area, California.  During this time he assisted the firm with their European patent work and gained experience with US patent prosecution.

Sean lectures on the biannual ‘Commercial Contracts for the Pharmaceutical Industry’ Falconbury course, presenting on the defences to patent infringement that exist in UK law for carrying out research and development and performing clinical research.  He also regularly provides educational seminars on patent law for both University clients and SMEs.