Practical LawConferences

MacKenna is a U.S. born English-qualified solicitor and strategic adviser in biomedical technologies. Her legal experience spans IP disputes to privacy, data protection and breach of confidentiality matters. She specialises in the analysis of patent landscapes, intellectual property (IP) rights and bioethical issues for emerging biotechnologies, particularly related to regenerative medicine (cell therapy), genomics and assisted reproduction. Most recently, MacKenna was an IP adviser to the Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI), a major European initiative aimed at accelerating therapies to market. At CASMI, she focused on its Open Innovation and its Translational Stem Cell Consortium initiatives evaluating the reality of perceived IP challenges and proposed solutions. She trained in the life sciences at Lawford Davies Denoon, a London specialist practice. She previously trained and practiced as a commercial litigator at a top 50 soft IP London firm with extensive experience on high-profile cases, including assisting the successful defence in a leading EU test case for copyright and broadcasting rights in the UK to view Football Association Premier League games using European satellite cards.

MacKenna holds a masters in Medical Law and Ethics from King’s College London and has published widely, including in high-impact journals such as Nature Biotechnology and Stem Cells and Development, as well as, regular contributions to BioNews, an online publication. While her advice distils complex issues into concrete, practical and commercial solutions, it is her unusual, combined skillset that produce valued industry insights. Together she successfully guides the translation of cutting-edge innovation along often uncertain and thorny paths to market. In the age of the less than $1,000 genome sequencing, big data, cloud storage and apps that let us do our banking and monitor our blood sugar levels from our mobiles, the issues of ownership (IP) and access (exclusivity) are tantamount. MacKenna is passionate about science and technology and feels fortunate to be at the frontiers of medical innovation dividing time between London and California.