Ones to Watch UK 2024: Emily Nikolic

Every year, JUVE Patent carries out extensive research in the UK patent market, culminating in the publication of the UK patent ranking. Our latest research highlighted Emily Nikolic, senior associate and patent attorney at Carpmaels & Ransford, as one of five ‘Ones to Watch’ in the UK patent market for 2024. The individual Ones to Watch 2024 articles are published alphabetically by surname.

When it comes to patent attorneys specialising in advice to the life science industry, Carpmaels & Ransford is a force to be reckoned with. Few patent firms in Europe are as well-networked in the industry as this London firm, which regularly produces new talent that earns great recognition in the market. Emily Nikolic, senior associate and the current star of the firm’s next generation, is now stepping into the limelight.

While she has received recognition from clients – one says, “she is excellent and definitely the rising star of the firm” and another notes that she gives “very good advice. When the partners are not present, she takes over and we don’t notice any difference in the advice” – opposing attorneys also praise the 41-year-old patent attorney. This especially for her work in EPO proceedings and civil court litigation.

Present for Praluent

At Carpmaels, partners Daniel Wise and Stephen Duffield are her mentors. Both are big names in the industry; Emily Nikolic works with them to advise Sanofi and Regeneron on various biotech products. Her focus is on active ingredients based on antibodies. And it is, by far, the now-epic battle with Amgen over Sanofi’s cholesterol-lowering drug Praluent which stands out from Nikolic’s client list. Praluent is based on a PCSK9 antibody, while Regeneron owns the patents.

For years, Amgen has generated billions in sales with its own product Repatha; since 2016, it has tried to push Praluent out of the market. While initially successful, obtaining a preliminary injunction for its basic patent in Germany, the tide turned. In 2020, Emily Nikolic was part of the successful team that ensured the EPO’s Technical Boards of Appeal maintained Amgen’s EP 2 215 124 in a drastically amended form to the extent that it no longer covered Praluent. This was a huge success for the Carpmaels team, alongside several German law firms.

Thus, the battle began anew. Amgen rose again when the EPO succeeded in granting a divisional of EP 124, with the opponents attacking each other’s patents at the EPO. Both sides also filed new infringement suits, and Nikolic was back in the thick of the action. Initially, she mainly contributed technical arguments but, as the dispute progressed, her role turned more to advocacy. She coordinated the international proceedings and was more present in the proceedings.

Garnering UPC experience

The dispute also quickly reached the UPC. On the first day of the court’s launch, a new battle played out when Sanofi and Amgen raced to file a revocation and infringement action, respectively – again, Nikolic was part of the team preparing the revocation claim on Sanofi’s behalf. Just a few hours later, Amgen filed an infringement suit against Sanofi at the Munich local division.

“UPC litigation is very different from what patent attorneys are used to in EPO oppositions,” says Emily Nikolic. “The proceedings at the new court so far have been fast and efficient, and the court’s aim of handing down first-instance decisions within a year or thereabouts seems achievable. I think that’s good, but keeping to the timelines will require new ways of working.”

About her work, Nikolic says, “I am privileged to be involved in lawsuits and EPO oppositions for my clients on a diverse range of biotech inventions and clinical products.” Even when she was studying natural sciences at the University of Cambridge, she enjoyed being able to explore a variety of different subject areas in depth. “My current work continues to satisfy this intellectual curiosity, focusing on some of the most therapeutically and commercially relevant areas of research,” she says.

Read JUVE Patent’s analysis of Carpmaels & Ransford in the JUVE Patent UK ranking 2024