Amy Lam PhD CLP

Expertise

Amy has nearly 25 years’ experience working with IP and advising on technology commercialisation, having held a variety of roles focused on IP valuation, partnering and technology licensing. An IP and commercialisation consultant for the past 9 years, Amy led and conducted over 200 consulting projects for public and private sector clients from around the world, many covering innovations in the life sciences, in areas such as genome editing, cell therapy, small molecule therapeutics and medical diagnostics. In addition, Amy has also led IP valuations for clients across diverse industries, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, oil & gas, and SaaS sectors. 

Amy graduated with a first-class honours degree in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the School of Pharmacy, UCL, University of London, and was awarded her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Glasgow. Amy also holds an M.Sc. in IP Law from Queen Mary University and is a Certified Licensing Professional, a professional qualification recognised by the Licensing Executives Society awarded to professionals who have demonstrated the necessary experience and proficiency in licensing and commercialising intellectual property (IP).

Amy has a client-focused outlook in her approach and has worked in both academia and industry in the UK and the USA. Prior to joining Gateley, previous in-house roles included Head of Business Development for the College of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and IP Licensing Manager for a life sciences contract research organisation.

How do you help clients? 

I help clients realise additional value from their intellectual property, whether that be direct hands-on support to identify and find suitable commercialisation and licensing partners, advising, and negotiating commercial and IP terms in a deal, or advising clients on their IP management strategy to enable them to capture, protect and work their IP more effectively.

I also advise clients with intellectual property valuations. For example, I have undertaken valuations for companies wishing to raise their next round of investment; to help inform internal investment decision-making through the identification of key risks and assumptions and assessment of the scope of the opportunity; and for royalty buy out purposes.

With respect to IP licensing, my experience from working across both academic and commercial environments allows me to contextualise deal terms that may be unfamiliar to clients and offer clients clear insights on how to best navigate these in order achieve their objectives. This experience has also allowed me to provide longer-term retained operational and management functions to both technology transfer functions within universities and contracting and IP functions within SMEs.

Experience

1. Advised liquidators appointed to find a buyer for IP with an independent valuation of the IP assets on offer. Our report detailed valuation assumptions, an analysis of the IP estate and observations on other market factor considerations influencing the valuation.
2. Provided an IP valuation on behalf of one of the leading UK-based university technology transfer offices over the downstream sale of IP they had exclusively licensed to a biotech.  Our NPV based valuation was based on sound methodology and external industry data sources and provided the team with a neutral and independent perspective and as well as solid recommendations in relation to the offer they had received for the acquisition of the IP portfolio.
3. Advised and worked with a multi-national company with green chemistry-based process technology on their IP management and strategy.  Following the completion of an IP audit, we worked with the company to design and execute a licensing strategy, including valuation and deal structures, leading to the company’s first licensing deal. We continue to work with the company to embed their IP management processes across their operations in multiple geographies.
4. Advised an overseas university on the commercial attractiveness of a novel combination therapy for cancer to understand the competitive positioning of its product, profiling strengths and weaknesses, and guidance on its further development. Our report included clear recommendations for technical and commercial next steps.   
5. Provided ad hoc advisory support on technology transfer, partnership and license agreements in relation to IP and related commercial terms for young biotechs.