Event Listing

East of England Regional Meeting 2026

19Mar

The East of England Meeting will be taking place on the 19 March 2026 at the Graduate by Hilton, Cambridge.

Don’t miss this exciting event, where you can connect with industry peers, gain insights from top experts, and stay informed about the latest advancements in intellectual property.

It’s a perfect chance to engage with the region’s vibrant professional community. Reserve your spot today and be part of this dynamic gathering!

You can also join the President, Vice President, and CIPA senior staff at our Presidential breakfast meeting — free to attend and open exclusively to members — for an update on current priorities and recent achievements, followed by an open forum where delegates are invited to share views, raise questions, and help shape future activity.

Audience

All

Programme & Speakers

Thursday 19 March

12:30 - 13:30 - Registration & Networking Lunch
13:30 - 13:40 - Introduction from the chair
Speakers
Camille Terfve, Mewburn Ellis
Camille Terfve, Mewburn Ellis

Camille is a UK and European Patent Attorney specialising in computational modelling and data driven approaches to life sciences including bioinformatics, digital health, AI in therapeutics, health and biology, and advanced bioprocessing.

She has a PhD in Bioinformatics (Cambridge University), and Master’s in Computational Biology (Cambridge University) and Bioengineering (Brussels University). She is a partner in Mewburn Ellis’s Cambridge office. She advises clients from biotech start ups and TTOs to large pharma in how best to protect, defend and deal with IP related to data driven and in silico technologies.

13:40 – 14:25: Through the Examiner’s Lens

This session will cover changes to the European Qualifying Examination (EQE), provide a behind the scenes insight into how the EQE is implemented, and discuss what it is like to serve as an examiner. We will consider the implications of these changes, including the impact on training and mentoring future attorneys.

Connor Yap, AstraZeneca
Connor Yap, AstraZeneca

Connor is a UK Chartered and European Patent Attorney at AstraZeneca. He specialises in small molecule therapeutics and has a particular interest in radiopharmaceutical technologies. Connor provides IP support for AstraZeneca pipeline programs, contractual matters and due diligence activities, and serves as a Paper C Examiner.

Alison Kinch, Sagittarius IP
Alison Kinch, Sagittarius IP

Alison is a UK Chartered and European Patent Attorney at Sagittarius IP specialising in pharmaceutical patents, with a technical focus on small molecule therapeutics. Alison manages large IP portfolios for a diverse array of clients, and is experienced in EPO opposition proceedings and due diligence activities. She serves as a Paper F Examiner and is a member of CIPA’s Sustainability Committee.

14:25 – 15:10: Risks And Rewards Of Using AI In Patent Practice

This session will explore risks and rewards that AI can bring to patent practices. It will explore (i) possible use cases of AI both for patent work and other tasks, (ii) warnings and considerations for those who are considering using it (including clients), (iii) suggestions for those testing AI tools, and (iv) key points from guidance of use of AI from epi, IPReg and CIPA.

Iain Russell, Russell IP
Iain Russell, Russell IP

Iain is an experienced patent attorney who runs Russell IP; a Surrey-based patent practice specialising in helping UK-based companies protect their high-tech (e.g. AI, computer technology, telecoms) and music-tech innovations. He is the Chair of CIPA’s new AI Committee and actively tests, uses, and builds his own, AI tools for patent work. He also offers training and support (primarily to in-house patent attorneys) around risks and rewards of adopting AI in IP work.

Rose Hughes, Evolve Intellectual Property
Rose Hughes, Evolve Intellectual Property

Rose is a European patent attorney at the pharmaceutical IP specialist firm Evolve Intellectual Property. Specialising in biologics, advanced therapies and AI-assisted drug development, Rose is driven by her passion for science and combining scientific knowledge with practical IP solutions.

Rose also leads Evolve’s AI strategy, including the development and adoption of Evolve’s own AI agents for pharma-IP prosecution and drafting. Evolve is focused on vertical integration of AI solutions within the firm, using purpose-built AI agents and workflows that are tailored to the unique requirements and challenges of pharmaceutical and biotech IP.

You may also know Rose from IPKat, where she shares insights on European patent law, pharmaceutical IP strategy, and the impact of AI on the patent industry.

15:10 – 15:40: Refreshment Break
15:40 – 16:25: Business Development through an IP lens

This session examines how IP rights underpin licensing and M&A deal theses. We will explore buyer-side rationale, structure, and value drivers, using theoretical case studies to show how IP due diligence tests and proves the thesis. We then outline mitigation strategies when DD surfaces IP gaps or risks.

Kevin Tipping, AstraZeneca
Kevin Tipping, AstraZeneca

Kevin Tipping is a dual qualified Patent Attorney and Transactions Director at AstraZeneca with extensive experience across the pharmaceutical R&D lifecycle. He leads complex deal negotiations in Business Development Operations and previously served as Director, Patents, providing end to end IP strategy for pipeline assets, platform teams (including generative AI Biologics Discovery), and major buy side transactions.

Mathew Leese, AstraZeneca
Mathew Leese, AstraZeneca

Mathew Leese is a dual-qualified Patent Attorney and Director in the IP group at AstraZeneca. With a background in medicinal chemistry, Mat trained at a Cambridge private practice firm before joining AstraZeneca in-house in 2017. He leads IP support for internal projects and has navigated complex deals spanning clinical and pre-clinical projects, precision medicine partnerships, and genomics consortia.

16:25 – 17:10: Experiences of litigating at the UPC and how the whole system fits together in practice
Speakers
Matthew Naylor, Mewburn Ellis LLP
Matthew Naylor, Mewburn Ellis LLP

Matthew is a UPC Representative and Chartered and European Patent Attorney. He is a Partner and Litigator at Mewburn Ellis. He handles patent and design work in the fields of materials and engineering. His work encompasses drafting, prosecution, opposition, dispute resolution and litigation – all stages of the patent life cycle. Matthew has a degree and PhD in materials science from the University of Oxford. His focus is on helping clients to navigate the opportunities and challenges of the Unified Patent Court.

Matthew is handling several substantive UPC actions along with technical specialists at Mewburn Ellis, in addition to advising on ongoing UPC actions represented by other European firms.

As the founder and lead author of UPC Weekly, Matthew devotes a significant part of each week to reviewing and commenting on UPC case law and educating fellow attorneys and lawyers.

Alex Wilson, Powell Gilbert
Alex Wilson, Powell Gilbert

Alex Wilson is a founding partner of Powell Gilbert www.powellgilbert.com, a specialist European IP law firm with offices in London, Dusseldorf, and Dublin.

He is a UK Solicitor Advocate, Irish Solicitor and UPC Representative. He guides clients from a wide range of industries on strategies for exploiting and enforcing of patents in national and UPC courts across Europe as well other major markets. He has handled a number of the leading SEP cases in the UPC and is on the PMAC FRAND Guidelines Working Group.

He is joint editor of an international commentary: Unified Patent Court Procedure, Beck 2025 and was actively involved in teaching legal and technical Judges for the Court. Alex is a Vice President of the European Patent Lawyers’ Association (EPLAW) and chairs its Japan and Korea Outreach and ADR committees.

Amy Crouch, Mewburn Ellis
Amy Crouch, Mewburn Ellis

Amy is a UK solicitor and patent litigation partner at Mewburn Ellis, with over 15 years’ experience of acting for clients in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Her experience spans the full spectrum of life sciences patent disputes before the UK courts, ranging from small molecule and antibody disputes to the UK’s first gene therapy patent case to go to trial. She also has extensive experience of coordinating multi-jurisdictional litigation across Europe and with the US, as well as aligning litigation strategy with opposition proceedings before the EPO.

Amy also has experience of acting for clients on UPC litigation and of advising clients on the ever-increasing importance of UPC litigation strategy and its integration with UK and European national litigation strategy. She is currently acting for a global pharmaceutical company in a UPC infringement suit for a CAR-T cell therapy.

Amy is also the co-chair of the London chapter of ChIPs, a high-profile IP organisation that acts to promote women in tech, law and policy.

17:10 – 17:20: Closing Remarks from the Chair
Speakers
Camille Terfve, Mewburn Ellis
Camille Terfve, Mewburn Ellis

Camille is a UK and European Patent Attorney specialising in computational modelling and data driven approaches to life sciences including bioinformatics, digital health, AI in therapeutics, health and biology, and advanced bioprocessing.

She has a PhD in Bioinformatics (Cambridge University), and Master’s in Computational Biology (Cambridge University) and Bioengineering (Brussels University). She is a partner in Mewburn Ellis’s Cambridge office. She advises clients from biotech start ups and TTOs to large pharma in how best to protect, defend and deal with IP related to data driven and in silico technologies.

17:20 – 19:00: Drinks Reception with Canapés

Sponsors

PatWorld

PatWorld Global IP Research Services

Founded by brothers Dean Parry MSc (former UKIPO Examiner and scientific researcher) and Tim Parry MBA (business and marketing specialist), PatWorld has been providing high-quality patent research services since 2005. The team supports IP professionals, technology companies, and universities worldwide with reliable and insightful patent searching.

Whether you need novelty, freedom-to-operate, invalidity, or landscape searches, our experts are here to support you with reliable, insightful results.

Contact us with your search request
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Safeguard IP Ltd

Founded over 10 years ago Safeguard Intellectual Property Ltd (SIP) is the UK’s only insurance broker exclusively focused on intellectual property. We help IP-rich businesses protect the value of their rights through bespoke insurance solutions that support innovation, litigation, and commercialisation.

Our deep sector knowledge sets us apart. SIP was founded by David Bloom, a former intellectual property litigator with over 15 years of experience acting in complex patent, trade mark and copyright disputes. That legal insight shapes everything we do from finding appropriate cover for clients to claims handling, enabling us to deliver tailored advice that aligns with the realities of IP risk.

We’re proud to work alongside patent attorneys to support their clients with cover that adds real strategic value. Whether they need to mitigate the cost risk of litigation or are looking for peace of mind ahead of investment or licensing, we can help.


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