Thomas Ware

Tom is a patent attorney specialising in biopharmaceuticals and life sciences, with a focus on helping clients protect commercially valuable innovation as technologies progress from research discovery through to clinical development, partnering and market entry.

He works closely with early-stage start-ups, universities and research institutes, university spin-outs, venture capital-backed companies, clinical-stage companies and large multinational companies. Clients value Tom as a close adviser on the IP implications of key commercial and scientific decisions, including invention disclosures, publication and conference timing, clinical data generation, collaboration arrangements and freedom-to-operate risk.

Tom advises on drafting, prosecution and strategic management of patent portfolios across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Europe, Asia and other key jurisdictions. His work is directed to building portfolios that support investment, partnering, product development and long-term market protection.

Tom’s technical experience includes:

• antibody therapeutics, antibody-drug conjugates and radiolabelled antibodies;
• CAR-T and other engineered cell therapies;
• therapeutic proteins and biologics;
• oligonucleotide and nucleic acid therapeutics, including RNA interference and antisense technologies;
• gene therapy, viral vectors and CRISPR-based gene editing;
• cancer immunotherapy, vaccines and infectious diseases;
• diagnostic platforms, including biomarker-based and companion diagnostics;
• nanoparticle-based drug delivery and formulation;
• transgenic animal models and research tools;
• neonatal and paediatric therapeutics; and
• dental therapeutics and oral care products.

As a former cancer and gene therapy researcher, Tom understands how experimental programs develop and how patent strategy can be shaped around key technical and commercial milestones. Before joining FPA, Tom completed his PhD in signal transduction and cancer biology at The University of Melbourne and worked as a senior research scientist at a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation gene therapies and medical diagnostics.

Tom provides commercially focused advice on portfolio strategy and lifecycle management, freedom-to-operate and infringement risk, due diligence for investment and partnering transactions, and patent protection for clinical development outcomes, including new formulations, dosing regimens and new medical uses.

Clients value Tom’s ability to translate complex science into clear, practical patent strategies that support funding, collaboration, product development and market exclusivity.

Tom has co-authored peer reviewed articles in journals including Nucleic Acids Research, EMBO Reports and Cancer Letters, through research collaborations across Australian research institutes and internationally.