On this episode of Investor Connect, Hall Marchant welcomes Gillian Fenton of LST Strategies, who brings more than 30 years of experience in licensing intellectual property and life sciences transactions, including work with GSK, Emergent BioSolutions, and Biogen, as well as university startups, established life science companies, and investors. 

Gillian shares how IP supports life science companies from inception through commercialization, explaining that patents are critical for protection and investment attraction, but that trade secrets, contractual rights, and IP-adjacent protections like FDA data exclusivities can also be central depending on the technology. She covers where startups underestimate licensing complexity—especially that licenses create long-term relationships unlike acquisitions—along with what “transaction readiness” looks like, including building a populated virtual data room early. 

The conversation also addresses due diligence red flags such as chain of title, freedom to operate, and misaligned global patent spending, plus how diligence and FTO depth should scale as clinical programs advance. Gillian explains how Bayh-Dole obligations, government rights, US manufacturing requirements, and march-in rights can shape commercialization over a technology’s lifetime, and she emphasizes aligning legal strategy with business strategy while adapting to disruptions in funding and the growing role of AI.

 

Visit LST Strategies LLC at lifesciencetransactions.com     

Reach out to Gillian at www.linkedin.com/in/gillianmfenton, and on gillian@lifesciencetransactions.com    

 

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Disclaimer:
Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.