Partner Alexandra Pygall joins Babraham Institute Board

The Babraham Institute undertakes world-class research into the molecular mechanisms that underlie normal cellular processes and functions. Its innovative research addresses fundamental biological questions of how cells and organisms develop and respond to the environment, with a particular focus on how people age and studying the underlying mechanisms controlling this process. The Institute is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, and also receives funding from other UK research councils, charitable foundations, the EU and medical charities. Pygall was appointed alongside Professor James Briscoe FMedSci FRS and Professor Peter Parker FMedSci FRS, both research group leaders at the Francis Crick Institute, and Professor Gordon Brown FMedSci FRS from the University of Exeter. She is the second Stephenson Harwood partner to have held a position on the Institute’s board; Anthony Clare was appointed to the Board in 2011 and served as Vice Chairman before stepping down in 2020. 

The Board is responsible for overseeing the management of the Institute to ensure that it meets the requirements associated with its funding from the BBSRC and its charitable status, and works with the director and senior management to shape its strategic vision, and set priorities and policies. 

Pygall, who is head of the firm’s cross-practice life sciences group, is an intellectual property expert, with degrees in both law and chemistry. She has significant experience advising on both transactions and disputes in the life sciences sector. She advises clients on research and development, collaboration and licence agreements, as well as on the intellectual property aspects of acquisitions, IPOs, investments and general commercial arrangements. She also advises clients on disputes arising from such agreements and on intellectual property disputes - ownership, infringement and validity.

Stephenson Harwood’s international life sciences group works with a wide range of clients, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, medical device and diagnostic companies, manufacturers, distributors and logistics companies, investors, banks and financial institutions, brokers and NOMADS.