July 15, 2025 | Are licensing fees required or gatekeeping? In this episode of The Chain[AP2.1], host Nimish Gera, vice president of Biologics at Mythic Therapeutics, and Ian Wilkinson, CEO of Gamma Proteins, discuss accessing antibody discovery technology through licensing fees and royalties—and whether these fees are justified or not. Wilkinson delves into the current landscape of antibody discovery technologies, including if AI-based technology warrants fees, how royalties affect both small companies and big pharma, and his background as one of the first experts in the field who offered purely free-for-service options. He also shares what excites him about antibody engineering and beyond.

GUEST BIO

Ian Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, Gamma Proteins
Ian is a highly experienced executive manager with 20 years of experience in recombinant proteins. Following a PhD in structural biology and recombinant protein production, Ian held various positions in large-pharma on early stage research and discovery of antibody and other protein based biological drugs. He then moved to Absolute Antibody as its first employee and built the company into one of the global leaders for recombinant antibody sequencing, expression and engineering services as well as being the first antibody supplier to offer an extensive catalogue of entirely recombinant antibodies. Following a decade of being at the forefront of the recombinant revolution in the antibody RUO and IVD markets Ian now has his sights on disrupting the recombinant protein reagents market with Gamma Proteins.

MODERATOR BIO

Nimish Gera, Ph.D., Vice President of Biologics, Mythic Therapeutics 
Nimish Gera is the Vice President of Biologics at Mythic Therapeutics leading multiple projects to engineer and develop novel antibody and antibody-based drugs in oncology and immuno-oncology. Prior to Mythic, Nimish has over fifteen years of experience in antibody and protein engineering with five years leading bispecific antibody programs in several disease areas such as rare diseases, oncology, and immunology at Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Oncobiologics. Nimish received his PhD degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from North Carolina State University and a B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.