Working in ‘Symbiosis’ with spinouts to protect their IP

At Cardiff University, we are proud of our track record for translating academic research into innovative spinouts and startups, and forming and building productive industry partnerships. In this blog we meet a new addition to our Cardiff Innovations family, Symbiosis IP, who tell us about their vital work in making research ambitions into business reality. 

Turning academic research into a successful business is rarely straightforward, something Lee Samuel, Director and patent attorney at Symbiosis IP, knows all too well.

“Research and academic institutions have a lot of important things to consider very early on in the process, particularly when it comes to the intellectual property (IP) in their work,” he explains.

“In addition to deciding what kind of IP they may have, institutions and startups will need to consider the best way to protect it, and whether that IP can translate into a viable business further down the line. In the life sciences in particular, where the research is often highly technical and nuanced, this is easier said than done.”

Nevertheless, that is what the team at Symbiosis IP is there to do for its clients, providing patent attorney and IP commercial advisory services to academic research institutes and businesses of all sizes, from early-stage spinouts to multinational corporations.

“Our primary specialisms are life sciences and chemistry, where necessary we can also draw on technical expertise within fields of software, electronics, and engineering through our colleagues at patent attorneys Adamson Jones,” Lee says.

“All of the patent attorneys in our team have research backgrounds in academia, holding post doctorate degrees and beyond. This means that we have the requisite knowledge to dig deeper into an understanding of the academic’s research and build an idea of what is, and what isn’t, capable of IP protection. In addition, we are able to draw upon this technical knowledge to interrogate the research and look at ways in which to add value to the IP on behalf of our clients.”

Who is Symbiosis IP?

Symbiosis IP was founded in 2008 by Julie Myint, a qualified Chartered UK Patent Attorney and Registered European Patent Attorney with a background in physiology and zoology.

She is based at Cardiff University’s Innovation Campus alongside Lee Samuel, who joined Symbiosis IP in 2011 as a trainee, and who now works as both a co-director and a patent attorney for the business.

“Symbiosis IP has grown significantly in terms of size and capability since it was founded 25 years’ ago,” Lee says. “In 2022, the business was acquired by professional services group Gateley, which expanded our capabilities into legal services via Gateley Legal, as well as trademark and patent services within different technical areas via Adamson Jones.”

Symbiosis IP’s own services expanded still further with the appointment of IP licensing and commercialisation specialists Andrew Tingey and Amy Lam in 2023.

“We are now one of the few patent attorney firms – if not the only one – in the UK with experts that can offer both protection and commercialisation advice, whether that is preparing IP for licensing, investment, or sale. We are therefore uniquely positioned to advise on all elements of translational research, from conception to exit,” Lee says.

Why Cardiff Innovations?

Symbiosis IP has been committed to supporting early-stage startups and spinouts since it was founded.

“The goal has always been to service the UK academic community, which, when properly nurtured, can have a significant impact on the UK economy,” Lee said.

“Unfortunately, outside the so-called ‘Golden Triangle’ of London, Oxford, and Cambridge, spinouts often struggle to access the funding and professional support they need to reach the proof-of-concept stage and secure private investment.”

In a report by Symbiosis IP analysing sentiment amongst university technology transfer offices (TTOs), respondents expressed their frustration with recent guidance designed to support regional spinouts, highlighting instead a greater need for fairer distribution of funding and support services.

“The guidance had centred around reducing equity stakes, which for many TTOs was not the problem to begin with,” Lee said. “For them, it was more about recognising the diversity of the UK’s spinout ecosystem and ensuring that resources are not funnelled solely into the south-east of England.”

Highlighting the 2023 Independent Review of University Spinout Companies, which recommended improving access to training, advice, and support, Lee says: “We have always aimed to be ‘on the ground’ for our clients, so to speak, providing quick and easy access to advice and support that early-stage businesses need concerning their IP.

“That’s why we chose Cardiff Innovations as one of our locations: to be in and amongst the academics and founders who need our support to reach the next stage in their business’s journey.”

In addition to Cardiff, members of the team are also based in York, Sheffield and London, with further support in Nottingham, Birmingham, and Leeds provided by Adamson Jones.

“That doesn’t mean we only service these areas, however,” Lee says. “We’re willing to travel across the UK to support our clients and see first-hand how they work and what they need.

“Our goal is to not just provide patent protection that gathers dust after a few years – it’s about harnessing the IP of a business and using it strategically to release as much value as possible, whether that’s in the early stages of securing funding, or on the road to a merger or acquisition.”