The Patent Attorney will be joining the Intellectual Property team at Oxford BioTherapeutics Ltd based in Abingdon, Oxford.

This position is responsible for day-to-day management of OBT’s Patent Portfolio.

With OBT’s emphasis on scientific investigation and innovation, the IP Department plays a crucial role in both the design and delivery of its corporate strategy. The appointee will be expected to draft, file and prosecute patent applications worldwide, liaising where required with external counsel, and provide freedom-to-operate, patent infringement, validity, and due diligence analyses. The successful candidate will furthermore draw upon a strong technical background and demonstrable ability and confidence to advise a variety of internal personnel on patent-related matters.

Candidates should be European qualified or nearing qualification, with a degree or equivalent level qualification in an appropriate technical area preferably Immunology, Molecular Biology or related life-sciences discipline.

An excellent knowledge of English - the company’s official working language - is essential.

Responsibilities:
:: Manage the day-to-day operations of OBT patent portfolio including preparation and prosecution of patent applications, communicating with foreign attorneys when required.
:: Assist other OBT IP group members with the review of patent licensing opportunities, analyzing defensive capabilities of OBT’s patent portfolio, and supporting third party patent-related alliances.
:: Collaborating with researchers to identify inventions, and manage invention disclosures.
:: Conducting prior art searches and preparing patentability, freedom to operate, infringement and validity analyses.
:: Collaborating with technical staff to generate and capture data through experimentation in support of patent filings.
:: Responding to inquiries from inventors, business decision-makers and other staff regarding patent applications and the OBT portfolio.
:: Assisting in managing intellectual property relationships in connection with the company’s licensing, joint development and research collaboration relationships.

OBT is seeking an experienced project manager to oversee its growing preclinical operations and its collaborations with California-based companies. A demonstrable record in successful project management in a biotech company is a must. Candidates should be highly organised and have excellent communication skills.

Candidates will have experience working with cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo including cell growth and antibody centric cell based assays such as ADCC, proliferation, invasion and FACS. This experience should have been gained during more than 2 years working in a dynamic biotech environment.

As part of OBT’s preclinical antibody group, you will conduct sequencing, cloning, expression and purification of antibodies and antibody fragments. Candidates should have more than 3 years experience in these areas and be fully aware and skilled in processes spanning the whole repertoire of antibody cloning and expression.

With experience in many areas of target assessment in oncology and skills in cell biology, molecular biology, immunohistochemistry and bioinformatics, successful candidates will adopt OBT’s orthogonal approach to target validation for oncology and play a crucial role in the prioritization of new antibody drug targets in oncology.