Recently, we caught up with Jessie Harrison, Associate at Mathys & Squire, based at our Oxford Centre for Innovation, to find out more about how the firm supports the Oxfordshire innovation ecosystem.
Mathys & Squire is a specialist intellectual property (IP) law firm advising businesses in a range of areas, from registering patents and designs to copyright.
The role of IP in innovation
With a global reach, Mathys & Squire’s Oxford office, , specialises in patents and IP protection for a range of technologies, including life sciences and tech. For small science start-ups, the firm often plays a role in building robust intellectual property strategies that protect business value. Jessie explained that this is key to helping these companies on their investment journey as they seek to grow and commercialise their innovative scientific research and development.
An IP strategy for the whole growth cycle of a business
One of the valuable perspectives Mathys & Squire bring to their portfolio of clients is advising and working with businesses at both ends of the spectrum, from early-stage start-ups to more established corporates looking to partner or acquire these research-based SMEs.
“That gives us a unique position, says Jessie, We are often involved with the IP strategy throughout the whole growth cycle of the business. We understand what these big companies look for when they invest in or acquire a start-up”.
The firm has worked extensively with incubators and accelerators as businesses get started. Her goals are always the same- to get these founders thinking about IP strategy from day one. This will allow entrepreneurs to capture and retain as much value in intellectual assets as they grow and scale. Once early-stage spinouts have taken that leap from the university lab to a commercial entity that’s when independent advice is valuable.
IP strategies to manage risk and investment
Jessie likens thinking about intellectual property to a method of managing risk. Early-stage science and technology businesses are typified by having invested considerable time and resources in R&D. Having a robust IP strategy helps protect a business and its potential market share, playing a key role in limiting other companies from capitalising on unique research.
There are other reasons why a strong intellectual property strategy is important to entrepreneurs. Investors reviewing decisions for early-stage start-ups often see an IP strategy as a key due diligence criterion. An IP strategy helps to balance what can be a tension during an investment process. She reflects that sometimes there is a gap between the internal view of opportunity and the risk perception of the external market perspective.
IP strategies to support innovative growth
Mathys & Squire have supported Oxfordshire-based Mixergy in protecting their intelligent hot water systems for many years. The Mixergy hot water cylinder concept was originally developed and spun-out from Oxford University’s Department for Engineering Science. The vision was to create intelligent hot water systems to maximise efficiency within the home.To some, hot water cylinders may have been perceived as a mature technology. However, since spinning out, Mixergy has developed an impressive range of innovative hot water solutions, evidenced by their 23 published patent families which Mathys & Squire have helped to protect.
The increasing combination of life-science and technology innovation
Mathys & Squire also support innovative Oxford-based business, Brainomix, which is utilising AI in the NHS to inform treatment decisions.
Brainomix launched as a spin-out from the preclinical stroke lab at the University of Oxford in 2010. Their advanced AI algorithms assist in the diagnosis of the patient’s condition by applying proprietary image processing techniques and apply real-time interpretations.
Mathys & Squire’s work with the company has helped protect much of their proprietary technology. The registered patents have expanded as the business has scaled and now include AI image analysis techniques to identify cancers or strokes via medical images- increasing accuracy and speed of diagnosis.
Jessie shared that there is a misconception that software and AI often are not patentable, but she confirms this is not the case. Brainomix has gone from success to success and has been able to roll out its products in different fields with different types of medical imaging technologies. Their IP strategies have been tailored to find different patterns as they’ve expanded into different industries through different techniques.
Brainomix is just one of a growing number of businesses that combine life science innovation and advanced technology. Mathys & Squire also support TheHill (an innovation catalyst embedded within Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that forms part of the Headington Science Cluster that is also supported by The Oxford Trust). TheHill seeks to drive innovation in healthcare by supporting digital innovation within the NHS. Mathys & Squire are supporting their Market Access Accelerator for digital health companies.
Jessie said that over the coming years, she expects to see the trend for innovative businesses that combine not just world-leading life-science but also technology to solve some of healthcare’s biggest challenges.
“Increasingly, there’s more and more innovation at that intersection and interplay of AI technology and engineering, being applied to biotech and life sciences problems”.
Much of that is happening in Oxford because of its world-class universities and research facilities. Jessie reflects that Oxford’s unique geography plays a role in this innovation.
“Oxford is very compact, meaning there is an incredible concentration of talent, expertise, and facilities. The geography enables a kind of cross-pollination of networks that overlap and spark exciting innovation”.
Jessie said that being based at the Oxford Centre for Innovation is important for their work with early-stage start-ups. It allows Mathys & Squire to be part of the community and support the network of businesses that are found in Oxford.
Find out more about Mathys & Squire here.
