Malcolm Bates, Ph.D.

Malcolm Bates is a partner in Goodwin’s Technology and Life Sciences groups based in Cambridge and London. He specialises in the commercialisation of intellectual property rights with particular expertise in life sciences. Dr. Bates advises on transactions, including licences, collaborations, distribution, manufacturing, outsourcing and R&D projects, as well as regulatory matters, contract and patent disputes, fundraisings, M&A transactions and IPOs.

Prior to joining Goodwin, he was a partner and Head of Life Sciences at Taylor Wessing LLP for 16 years. Dr. Bates has a PhD in Molecular Biology from Imperial College, London. He was previously General Counsel and Vice President at Genset in Paris.

Dr. Bates is one of the most experienced specialist licensing practitioners in Europe, advising numerous companies and investors in relation to partnering transactions.

• Advised SynAffix and its selling shareholders on its sale to Lonza. Under the terms of the sale and purchase agreement, Lonza have paid Synaffix’s shareholders an upfront payment of €100 million, with the potential for shareholders to receive an additional payment of up to €60 million contingent on financial performance
• Advised MiNA Therapeutics Limited on entering into a Research and Collaboration Agreement with Eli Lilly and Company under which MiNA will utilize its platform technology for the discovery of novel small activating RNA compounds to identify compounds directed to up to five targets selected by Lilly.
• Advised Oxford Biomedica plc. on its new master Development and Supply Agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim for the manufacture and supply of various types of viral vectors.
• Advised SpyBiotech Limited on entering into a licence with Selexis SA under which SpyBiotech is granted rights to use certain cell banks of Selexis for the development, manufacture and commercialisation of SpyBiotech’s products.
• Advised MiNA Therapeutics Limited on its collaboration and license partnership with Les Laboratoires Servier, relating to the identification, development and commercialisation of small activating RNA (saRNA) therapies for the treatment of neurological disorders.
• Advised Avacta Group plc on entering into a license agreement with POINT Biopharma Inc., to provide access to Avacta’s proprietary pre|CISION™ technology for the development of tumour-activated radiopharmaceuticals.

Dr. Bates serves as secretary to One Nucleus, a networking organisation for Life Sciences companies based in Cambridge, London and their surrounding regions.

Dr. Bates was recognized for excellence in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Bates was recognized by Chambers 2022 and 2021 UK for his work in Life Sciences: Transactional and was recognized by Managing IP as a 2021 IP Star for his excellence across a variety of transactional matters.

He was also ranked as a leading individual in Intellectual Property, Corporate and Commercial, Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology and IT and Telecoms by Legal 500. He is commended by Legal 500 in the following terms: “Malcolm Bates and his team consistently demonstrate their expertise and experience in the biotechnology sector” and is “very responsive and show[s] great commercial understanding of the pharmaceutical industry.”

Moreover, Dr. Bates was ranked as Band 1 in Life Sciences – Transactional –  by Chambers 2019. He is commended by Chambers as  “a very experienced transactions lawyer and negotiator, with a good scientific background,” and having a “profound understanding of the [Life Sciences] sector, much of which he owes to a previous role as vice-president and general counsel [in industry].”