In antibody discovery, identifying a promising binder is only part of the challenge. For well-established targets, companies also need to consider whether the resulting sequences are novel, patentable and commercially usable. Freedom-to-operate risk can become a major issue if discovery programmes generate convergent or overlapping sequences that are difficult to protect.
In the full article, Isogenica explores why IP strategy should be considered early in antibody discovery, not treated as a downstream legal checkpoint. The blog looks at how conventional immunisation approaches can create freedom-to-operate challenges, particularly on heavily pursued targets where similar antibody responses may increase the risk of sequence overlap and IP conflict.
The article also explains how synthetic VHH libraries may help reduce some of these risks by generating de novo, non-convergent sequences and enabling greater control over library design and selection strategy. For biotech teams building therapeutic programmes, the message is clear: discovery quality is not just about affinity and specificity — it is also about creating candidates with a clearer route to development, ownership and commercial value.
Read the full blog:
https://isogenica.com/antibody-discovery-fto/