Pivot, licence, and profit – IP strategy lessons from Meatable and Uncommon’s deal for long-term value in cultivated meat R&D

Last month, Meatable announced the acquisition of Uncommon Bio’s cultivated meat platform. As part of the deal, the Dutch company added Uncommon’s RNA-based cell reprogramming and differentiation technology to its portfolio, citing the synergy with its existing opti-ox platform as the primary motivation for acquiring the relevant cell lines, staff expertise, and, crucially, intellectual property rights.

Uncommon, meanwhile, is refocusing on therapeutics, particularly for severe lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In the early days of cellular agriculture, platforms were built on insights from pharmaceutical and medical cell research. Now, Uncommon’s approach – originally developed for cultivated meat – is finding new applications in medicine. In some ways, the sector has come full circle.

In a developing field such as cultivated meat, acquisitions and mergers are often struck on the promise of a future niche. This may be defined by technology, but it is ultimately secured by intellectual property and the defensive moat it creates. IP rights give innovators a legal monopoly to protect their investment and prevent third parties from ‘free riding’ on R&D. Licensing or acquisition can bypass the slow process of developing a platform from scratch, enabling companies to buy expertise and move toward commercialization more quickly.

Building an IP portfolio that covers the full scope of innovation maximizes opportunities to capitalize on R&D

It also allows teams to specialize. Instead of stretching resources across the full technology stack, companies can invest in perfecting a specific element – bioreactors, cell lines, immortalization protocols, or fat synthesis processes – while licensing in the rest as needed. Out-licensing can generate revenue, while in-licensing accelerates development.

This approach comes at a cost. The value of the Uncommon deal has not been disclosed, but it would have been determined by both the perceived impact of the technology and the strength of the IP portfolio around it.

There are also lessons for early-stage companies. Deals like this can provide ancillary revenue streams or even potential exits. Building an IP portfolio that covers
the full scope of innovation maximizes opportunities to capitalize on R&D. While cultivated meat companies will naturally focus on animal muscle and fat cells, it
would be short-sighted to overlook potential applications in pharmaceutical, industrial, or medical biotechnology. By capturing innovation at its inception and drafting patents strategically, companies can leave open the option to pivot – as Uncommon has done – or create new revenue streams through sector-specific licenses.

The transfer of key staff in the deal also highlights a common challenge in IP acquisitions. Valuable know-how often resides in the team that developed the IP asset. Any research scientist – or even a home baker – will know the frustration of following a protocol or recipe to the letter, only to see it fail because of a missing detail
or ‘the knack’. Unlike patented technology, this tacit knowledge can be difficult to define, let alone transfer, and reverse-engineering it wastes valuable time.

Unless explicitly provided for, such intangible know-how can be hard to capture in a deal. Whether through staff transfer, training, or consultancy, it is important to ensure that all essential knowledge required to realize the technology is included in the agreement.

Looking ahead, these kinds of deals are likely to become more common. As the field matures, mergers, acquisitions, and strategic pivots are natural steps – and intellectual property will sit at the heart of them. Companies that take a long-term view, and work with their advisors to develop an IP strategy that balances flexibility with protection, will be best positioned to adapt as they grow.

Andrew Tindall is a Patent Director and patent attorney at HGF, based in London. He has a special interest in the technologies shaping the futures of food science, having spent his career working with alternative protein clients ranging from startups to investors and multinationals. This article is republished from the Q3 2025 edition of Protein Production Technology International, the industry's leading resource for alternative proteins. To subscribe to all future editions, please click here