FPA Patent Attorneys is delighted to announce the promotion of Sarah Hennebry to Principal, effective from 1 July 2026.
“Sarah’s promotion to Principal recognises the outstanding contribution she has made to our life sciences practice. Her deep technical expertise, combined with her ability to deliver commercially meaningful advice across complex, multi-jurisdictional portfolios, is a tremendous asset to our clients and to the firm,” says FPA’s Managing Principal, John Dower.
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Genetics (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts, both from the University of Melbourne, where she also completed her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, elucidating the structure and function of a novel protein associated with bacterial pathogenesis.
She subsequently undertook three years of postdoctoral research at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, investigating biomarkers and molecular pathways associated with sympathetic nervous system activation across neuropsychiatric, renal, cardiovascular, and metabolic disease contexts.
Sarah says, “This next step in my career at FPA is a privilege and a responsibility. I remain committed to delivering great outcomes for FPA’s clients and am excited to continue working with the best minds in Australian biotechnology research and commercialisation.”
Since joining FPA, Sarah has built a highly regarded practice in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, working with a diverse range of clients — including universities, research institutes, and large corporations — across the full patent lifecycle. She is particularly experienced in managing complex patent portfolios across the US, Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America, and routinely advises investors and industry stakeholders on freedom-to-operate and validity opinions as part of due diligence reviews.
Sarah’s technical expertise spans antibodies and therapeutic proteins, in vitro diagnostics, small molecule pharmaceuticals, infectious diseases and vaccines, genome technologies, and agrigenetics, and she has been recognised as a Rising Star by IP Stars, Managing Intellectual Property, in 2020–2022 and again in 2026.
