70 Finance Monthly. Special Feature In your view, what are the most interesting current trends emerging from the IP and IT sectors? One of the most interesting current trends we are witnessing is the mass emergence of AI, with tools like ChatGPT being accessible to everyone – and we are debating whether we will now see the ‘death of copyright’ (I for one think so). What do you enjoy most about your current role? In my role as a partner here at NEUWERK, I am often asked to be actively involved in two sectors that are particularly close to my heart, namely Life Sciences and IT. With our focus on licensing and commercial work, we are often invited by our clients to be involved in deals and collaborations in the development of new and innovative products. Typically these are very exciting developments in which not only the medical world but also the general public has a great interest. I really enjoy this work – I find it intellectually challenging and incredibly exciting! Can you tell us anything about significant past deals you have worked on? A few years ago, I advised BioNTech, a leading German biotech company specialising in immunotherapies (particularly mRNA therapies), on a series of licensing collaborations to commercialise novel mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies. These collaborations have the potential to revolutionise cancer treatment by providing personalised cancer vaccines for many tumours. Then last year, the University Clinic of Cologne asked me to advise them on an out-licensing of a novel compound to BioNTech (i.e. to effectively sit on the other side of the negotiating table). That was a lot of fun – it gave me a
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