Danny Gelman

Danny specialises in the drafting and prosecution of global patent families across the chemical field, including organic synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, materials chemistry, pharmaceuticals, plant-based extracts, agribusiness, chemical processing for the mining and resources, and food and beverages sectors.

Danny’s experience covers the entire life cycle of a patent. He advises clients at every stage, from the patent-related aspects of experimental design, development of appropriate IP strategies, and drafting patent specifications, to obtaining globally enforceable rights and advising on infringement risks ahead of product launches.

During his PhD studies, Danny was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and spent a year as a visiting scientist at Harvard University. Following completion of his doctorate, Danny worked in the UK pharmaceutical industry as a senior scientist in a drug discovery role.

While in the UK, Danny also completed a course in technology-based entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School at Oxford University.

Danny’s combined patent, pharmaceutical and academic experience gives him a deep understanding of the journey that an invention takes from conception through to commercialisation. This allows him to identify valuable aspects of an invention and build investable patent portfolios to help his clients succeed.

Danny was the President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Bioactive Discovery and Development Group (BDDG) in 2017 and continues to be involved to this day. He has also been a guest lecturer at Monash University’s School of Chemistry.

Some of Danny’s most significant achievements include:

• Australian VC-backed biopharmaceutical company: Danny developed an innovative patent filing strategy which balanced technical developments against the company’s commercial priorities.
• Private biopharmaceutical company: Danny built and implemented a global patent filing strategy from start to finish, including invention scope development, balancing ongoing R&D pipeline development, developing defensive publication strategy, and drafting and filing patent applications for implementation.
• University spin-out biopharmaceutical company: Danny advised on all aspects of IP development, including patent portfolio management, global prosecution across multiple patent families, and new invention identification. The portfolio successfully passed BigPharma due diligence to enable partnering discussions.
• ASX-listed mining & resources company: Danny developed a global patent filing strategy protecting a key chemical process.
• Venture Capital (VC) fund: Danny advised a VC fund on a freedom-to-operate assessment for a potential portfolio company as part of pre-investment due diligence.