Background

Immatics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company active in the discovery and development of T-cell cancer immunotherapies, headquartered in Tübingen (Germany). Immatics’ international team – with additional sites in Munich and Houston, Texas – is committed to advancing its proprietary therapeutic pipeline and collaboration programs with global pharmaceutical leaders to address significant unmet medical needs in oncology.

The company has gone through a period of exciting growth, culminating in a Nasdaq listing in July 2020, achieving an initial market capitalisation of US$253m. Critical to the company’s growth and long term development has been the creation and establishment of an IP strategy and function, which Adamson & Partners has been delighted to support from the company’s infancy.

More recently, Immatics approached Adamson & Partners to create at least one new in-house IP role to supplement the existing three European Patent Attorneys based at the company’s site in Munich.

Criteria

Core to the success and development of the Immatics IP team to date has been the cultural and personal fit of the individuals, such that there is excellent rapport between the current team members. Consequently, the onus was on finding individuals that would complement the existing team’s soft skills as much as their technical and IP expertise, along with the ability to work in a small or startup environment and possess dynamism and general adaptability.

In addition to the typical substantive IP aspects expected of the role, Immatics was eager to find an individual with demonstrable IP experience within the South American market.

Solution

We took this initial brief and went to market, mapping out potential technical and character fits within our talent pool in Munich and the surrounding areas. Following this comprehensive and exhaustive search, we shortlisted eight excellent qualified and highly driven European Patent Attorneys that fit and exceeded the initial brief, for the client’s interview and selection.

Considering the high growth period, longer term strategy of the company and strength of our shortlisted candidates, Immatics decided to hire four individuals, exceeding their initial brief of a single patent attorney and adding further value to their operations.

Outcome

Adamson and Partners was able to present eight strong and diverse candidates for selection, which allowed the client to look beyond its initial existing need for work coverage, to building a robust and high-quality in-house IP department to assist with the company’s growth in years to come. All four individuals will on-board in January 2021.

If you are looking to develop and grow your IP and Legal departments, we would be delighted to assist. Whether you are looking for your next career opportunity, help expanding your team, or assistance with mergers and acquisitions, contact us today for a confidential discussion.

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For more information, please contact

Julian Adamson

Managing Partner