Dr. Sabrina WITTHOFF

Dr. Sabrina Witthoff is a founding partner of the law firm Witthoff Jaekel Steinecke and works in close cooperation with ambidex IP at the location in cologne. She specializes in patent and utility model grant procedures in the Life Sciences sector and also coordinates the international prosecution of technical intellectual property rights. Additionally, she has extensive experience in litigation proceedings and advises clients on the development of IP portfolios and the enforcement of rights against competitors, with particular expertise in the freedom to operate in the development of biosimilars/generics.

Dr. Sabrina Witthoff studied Life Sciences (B.Sc.) and Biotechnology (M.Sc.) at the University of Münster and wrote her master thesis at the Research Center Jülich. She then worked as a research assistant for six months at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Singapore. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biotechnology at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences at the Research Center Jülich. Alongside her Ph.D., she gained experience through her research work at an international chemical corporation. In addition to her solid knowledge in molecular biology, biotechnology, and microbiology—particularly in microbial strain development—she also has experience in biochemistry, bioprocess engineering, cell biology, and developmental biology.

Specialisations

• Industrial property protection, especially patents and utility models in the fields of antibody technology, molecular biotechnology, plant biotechnology, molecular biology, cell biology, tumor biology, pharmacology, genetic diseases, immunology, stem cell technology, diagnostics, and screening methods.
• Development and prosecution of technical intellectual property rights
• Opposition and appeal procedures
• Collaboration with attorneys in patent infringement and nullity proceedings
• Drafting opinions regarding the legal validity and infringement of technical intellectual property rights