Practical Projects

• Design and manage the delivery of practical work in support of your patent litigation, or  generate data on behalf of your client for patent filing, to agreed timelines and costs.
  
• Will often do the work in-house, or find suitable specialist resources to get it done.
• Operate our own laboratory facilities at the Centre for Innovation & Enterprise, University of Oxford Begbroke Science Park, including HPLC, freeze drying (shown above), fume cupboards, etc.
• Established links with companies (such as M2M Pharma, Cortex Organics, Dextra Labs) and with University departments (University of Oxford, University of Reading, School of Pharmacy UCL, University of Sussex) - including access to full analytical facilities (NMR, mass spec, full physical characterisation, crystallography).  
• On call whenever needed, with a thoroughly professional service – delivering to required deadlines and explaining the results personally.

Some examples of projects managed and led in the labs by Dr Hooper are given below.

1) Resolution Chemicals vs Lundbeck (Escitalopram)

Dr Hooper led the team at Pharmaterials in support of the legal team representing Resolution Chemicals against Lundbeck, in a patent revocation claim (escitalopram). He consulted on case strategy and choice of expert witness. He then managed and personally carried out a full practical programme involving organic synthesis and chiral resolution. This involved an initial run through of the practical project, a second repeat (recorded on video for use in the case) and then a final repeat monitored in person and recorded by both sides (including representatives from the opposing legal team). He then carried out full preparation for High Court proceedings. 

2) Physical form and chirality for Esomeprazole

Once the state-of-matter patent on Omeprazole (Nexium) had run out, it was extended by secondary patents on chirality (enantiomeric excess of S-form) and crystalline form. Dr Hooper worked on a case of potential infringement where he devised and carried out a practical programme to show non-infringement for crystal form of the API (in the supplied drug and final tableted formulation) and for enantiomeric excess of the API (again in the supplied drug and final tableted formulation).