Daniel Rowe

Dan is a European and Chartered UK Patent Attorney. He joined Dehns in 2001 after completing a BSc (Biochemistry; first class) and then a PhD in molecular cell biology, both from the University of Bristol. He became an Associate of the firm in 2008, Senior Associate in 2018 and was made a Partner Dehns’ Biotechnology and Life Sciences Group in 2023. He now heads the Oxford office Biotechnology and Life Sciences practice.

Type of clients and client work

Dan’s clients range from small biotech start-ups and university spin-outs/technology transfer offices to multinational biotech/pharma corporations, with particular experience assisting UK, US and Scandinavian start-ups protect and exploit their IP, and assess their freedom to operate in their chosen fields. With his academic background, he works well with both inventors and management teams, including academic inventors and university technology transfer groups, understanding and balancing their competing needs and drivers, and so is able to provide support tailored to the audience that helps the client get the best results.

Dan assists his clients with the development and management of global patent portfolios and general IP strategy aligned with their commercial strategies.  His work is primarily focused on writing and filing patent applications for his clients, and getting them granted all around the world.  As a European patent attorney, he also handles EP patent Opposition proceedings (offensive and defensive), both at first instance and at appeal stage.  Dan further helps clients by providing straightforward, business-oriented advice on wider aspects of biotech patent law including patentability analyses, IP landscapes, and infringement and validity analyses (so called Freedom to Operate (FTO)). 

Expertise

Using his background in molecular cell biology, Dan deals with patents and formulates IP strategies across the full spectrum of industrial and medical biotechnology. Within the health sector, he has a particular focus on molecular medicine (including therapeutic viruses and gene therapy vectors); molecular diagnostics, biomarkers and personalised medicine; pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary); drug repurposing/further medical uses; medical devices; advanced drug delivery (drug uptake enhancers, nanoparticles, nucleic acid/virus vectors); and wound healing products. His industrial practice includes technologies for protein purification from blood products; advanced cell-factories for the industrial production of proteins; microorganisms for oil spill clean-up, and surface sanitisation products. Dan also handles cases directed to microbiological and non-microbiological processes for the production of poly/oligosaccharides and engineered enzymes for removing contaminating nucleic acids from solutions.

Qualifications and Memberships

• UK Chartered Patent Attorney, 2006
• European Patent Attorney, 2006
• Basic Litigation Skills Course, 2017
• Authorised Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) 2023
• Certificate in IP Law, University of London, 2003
• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
• Member of the European Patent Institute

Higher Education

BSc (Hons) (First Class), Biochemistry, University of Bristol, 1998

PhD “The intracellular mechanisms of thapsigargin-induced inhibition of human vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation”, University of Bristol, 2001