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UPC Representative and European & Belgian Patent Attorney

Sarah Thysen (PhD) is a European and Belgian Patent Attorney and a registered UPC Representative at De Clercq & Partners with strong experience in patent prosecution, opposition and appeal proceedings and strategic IP advisory work in the life sciences sector. She advises innovative companies on the protection, development and optimisation of patent portfolios. 

Sarah holds a Master’s degree and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from KU Leuven. During her academic training, she gained international research experience, including a research stay at Tsinghua University in China, and conducted her doctoral research in the field of skeletal biology and engineering. Prior to joining De Clercq & Partners, she worked as a scientific collaborator in an academic research environment, giving her a solid foundation in applied life sciences research. She joined De Clercq & Partners in 2015 and qualified as a European Patent Attorney in 2019 and as a Belgian Patent Attorney in 2021.  

Sarah’s technical expertise spans a broad range of life sciences fields, including biotechnology, biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, regenerative medicine, immune cell therapy, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and biomarker-based technologies. She is regularly involved in IP due diligence, patent landscape analysis and strategic portfolio management for research-driven companies and academic spin-offs. 

Alongside her client work, Sarah is actively involved in the IP community and continues to build her profile as a trusted adviser in life sciences patent matters. Her work has been recognised by international legal directories, which have highlighted her as a rising practitioner in European patent law.