Susan Hancock - Our people - Kilburn & Strode

About

Susan is a partner and patent attorney in our Life Sciences & Chemistry group and specialises in biotechnology and therapeutics. Her practice focuses on obtaining patent protection for commercially valuable products and platform technologies for early-stage to medium-sized clients, where she has particular expertise in cell, gene and antibody therapies, genome editing, synthetic biology, and nucleic acid amplification, manipulation and sequencing technologies. Clients value her approachability, pragmatic and commercially tailored advice, and her knack for obtaining patents for complex and challenging cases.

Bringing significant experience in contentious matters, she regularly advocates for clients in EPO opposition and appeal proceedings, as well as provides support in UK litigation proceedings. She is adept at preparing validity opinions and carrying out freedom to operate analyses.

She also assists clients in maximising patent term by co-ordinating the filing and prosecution of pan-European supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).

Susan brings a strong academic background to her practice, stemming from over 10 years of doctoral and postdoctoral research in synthetic biology and biocatalysis, and has broad technical experience in biotechnology, molecular biology and organic chemistry. Away from the office, Susan enjoys travelling and is a keen hiker and skier.

Credentials

Qualifications

European Patent Attorney
Chartered UK Patent Attorney
IP litigator - Patents
Representative before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) (2023)
Certificate in Intellectual Property Law - Queen Mary, University of London
MChem in Biological Chemistry - University of Sheffield
DPhil in Enzyme Engineering and Biocatalysis, Department of Chemistry - University of Oxford

Memberships

Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA)
The Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office (EPI)

Publications

“Neurim-style SPCs” CIPA Journal 2016, 45(8-9): 16-18.
“SPC term: set in stone?” CIPA Journal 2017, 46(7-8): 32-33.
“What constitutes a ‘new’ active ingredient under Article 1(b)?” CIPA Journal 2018, 47(7-8): 12-13.

Selected scientific publications:
“Expanding the genetic code of yeast for incorporation of diverse unnatural amino acids via a pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair.”
Hancock SM, Uprety R, Deiters A, Chin JW. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132(42): 14819

“A method for genetically installing site-specific acetylation in recombinant histones defines the effects of H3 K56 acetylation.”
Neumann H, Hancock SM, Buning R, Routh A, Chapman L, Somers J, Owen-Hughes T, van Noort J, Rhodes D, Chin JW. Mol. Cell. 2009, 36(1):153-63.

“Designer enzymes for glycosphingolipid synthesis by directed evolution.”
Hancock SM, Rich JR, Caines ME, Strynadka NC, Withers SG. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2009, 5(7): 508

“The structural basis of glycosidase inhibition by five-membered iminocyclitols: the clan a glycoside hydrolase endoglycoceramidase as a model system.”
Caines ME, Hancock SM, Tarling CA, Wrodnigg TM, Stick RV, Stütz AE, Vasella A, Withers SG, Strynadka NC. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 2007, 46(24): 4474

“High-throughput screening of cell lysates for ganglioside synthesis.”
Hancock SM, Tarling CA, Withers SG. Anal. Biochem. 2008, 382(1): 48

“Engineering of glycosidases and glycosyltransferases.”
Hancock SM, Vaughan MD, Withers SG. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 2006, 10(5): 509

“Structural and mechanistic analyses of endo-glycoceramidase II, a membrane-associated family 5 glycosidase in the Apo and GM3 ganglioside-bound forms.”
Caines ME, Vaughan MD, Tarling CA, Hancock SM, Warren RA, Withers SG, Strynadka NC. J. Biol Chem. 2007, 282(19): 14300

“A front-face 'SNi synthase' engineered from a retaining 'double-SN2' hydrolase.”
Iglesias-Fernández J, Hancock SM, Lee SS, Khan M, Kirkpatrick J, Oldham NJ, McAuley K, Fordham-Skelton A, Rovira C, Davis BG. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2017, 13(8): 874

“Developing promiscuous glycosidases for glycoside synthesis: residues W433 and E432 in Sulfolobus solfataricus beta-glycosidase are important glucoside- and galactoside-specificity determinants.”
Hancock SM, Corbett K, Fordham-Skelton AP, Gatehouse JA, Davis BG. Chembiochem. 2005, 6(5): 866