Vicki Allen

Vicki is a European and UK Patent Attorney. Whilst working across all areas of biotechnology, antibody therapeutics are a major focus of Vicki's work, and she handles cases in this area for UK, US and Japanese companies. Vicki advises clients and foreign attorneys on how to draft antibody applications to optimise protection and to maximise the chances of securing allowance at the European Patent Office. Other areas of interest include immunotherapy, vaccines, personalised medicine and RNA therapeutics.

Before joining the patent profession, Vicki’s PhD involved studying the effects of isomerisation of azo-lipids on membrane protein folding. Vicki therefore handles a number of cases at the interface of biochemistry and chemistry, including cases relating to the interactions between small molecule drugs and proteins, lipid-protein complexes and drug delivery systems.

In addition to prosecuting applications at the European patent office, Vicki has significant experience in opposition and appeal proceedings, in particular in the areas of antibody therapeutics and immunotherapy. Vicki also handles a number of large worldwide portfolios and has a good understanding of the issues that may be faced in different jurisdictions.

Vicki is the Head of our Cambridge office and, whilst many of her clients are large pharmaceutical companies, Vicki also enjoys working with smaller companies and technology transfer organisations. Vicki has been involved in a number of local mentoring schemes for start-ups, including Impulse, EnterpriseTECH and EnterpriseWOMEN.

Vicki is a recommended in IAM Patent 1000 and clients praise her for being "consistently transparent about the commercial and patenting viability of applications, drawing on her significant years of experience to be able to advise appropriately. Her approach to supporting her clientele is always rigorous and well prepared. Vicki stays on top of recent developments in the industry, and it is obvious that her meticulous support and advice is underpinned by her passion for the subject matter.”  She is also named in the Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) IP Stars Handbook. 

Vicki joined J A Kemp in 2010 and became a partner in 2020.