United Kingdom: Life Sciences, Biotechnology & Nanotechnology

Nomio, a broccoli-based sports supplement gaining popularity among endurance athletes, has secured patent protection for its innovative use of sulforaphane to enhance exercise performance and treat metabolic conditions. This analysis explores how the company leveraged university research to protect both therapeutic and non-therapeutic applications of their simple three-ingredient formula, demonstrating that even products with common ingredients can achieve robust patent protection through novel use claims.

The UK Patents Court has upheld Novartis' patent and SPC protecting Entresto, its blockbuster heart failure treatment combining valsartan and sacubitril, rejecting all validity challenges from generic manufacturer Accord Healthcare. The judgment provides crucial guidance on plausibility requirements where experimental data have been generated but not fully disclosed in the patent specification, clarifying when qualitative disclosure of positive results suffices without detailed numerical data.

Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to drug repurposing to accelerate development timelines and reduce risk, identifying new therapeutic applications for known compounds. This strategy offers significant clinical and commercial advantages, from faster patient access to extended product lifecycles, but raises complex questions about intellectual property protection and regulatory exclusivity. The article examines how second medical use patents and strategic IP planning enable innovators to secu

The regulation of non-surgical aesthetics in England is approaching an important turning point. Although there is not yet a comprehensive statutory licensing regime, aesthetics businesses and regulated healthcare professionals already operate within a complex framework of professional, medicines, and product regulation. Further regulation is also being developed specifically for non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

For companies developing advanced materials, battery technologies, and green technologies, the journey from laboratory proof-of-concept to commercial manufacturing often reveals the most valuable patentable inventions. Scale-up challenges involving heat transfer, particle morphology, coating uniformity, and manufacturing economics can create intellectual property that proves more commercially significant than the original laboratory discovery.

The UK Government has introduced sweeping reforms to the regulatory framework governing medicines and medical devices through amendments to the Health Bill currently progressing through Parliament. These proposed changes would grant the Secretary of State new powers to establish a licensing regime for medical devices and enable faster regulatory updates in response to scientific and technological advances.

The World has changed; we can be certain that in an age where generative AI has become readily available to scientists, engineers and creatives, the prospects for potential leaps in innovation seem boundless.

This monthly roundup examines critical patent law developments across multiple jurisdictions, including landmark UPC Court of Appeal decisions on preliminary injunctions and urgency requirements, French and Belgian court rulings on supplementary protection certificates and biosimilar equivalence, and UK guidance on expedition applications in pharmaceutical patent disputes. The analysis explores how courts are interpreting infringement standards, evidence production alignment in parallel proceedings, and the

Artificial intelligence, wearable devices and at-home diagnostics are revolutionizing personal health management in 2026. From AI-driven health systems that create digital twins to smart rings monitoring physiological signals and home diagnostic tools tracking biomarkers, technology is enabling unprecedented personalization in wellness.