Building a smart IP strategy for HealthTech startups collaborating with Pharma

Innovation in healthcare isn’t just about creating new technology – it’s about building something that lasts. For startups in healthtech and life sciences, intellectual property (IP) can be the foundation that transforms great ideas into sustainable businesses. In an increasingly collaborative landscape where pharma, tech and startups intersect, a strong IP strategy is not only protection – it’s leverage. 

DayOne recently hosted a webinar for the Accelerator’s current cohort & alumni with Jean-Nicolas Longchamp, Founder & CEO of dynamXIP, an intellectual property law firm in Switzerland offering legal and technical services to protect, enforce and strategize clients’ patents, trademarks, designs and trade secrets. dynamXIP is a partner of DayOne and a resident at the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel at Novartis campus. 

Jean-Nicolas shared with us some valuable insights on the IP landscape in digital health and how to build an IP strategy for startups collaborating with pharma. Here are a few of the key takeaways. 

Every startup’s success ultimately depends on three factors: finding a viable market, ensuring the freedom to operate within it and maintaining a defensible competitive edge. Where these three elements overlap lies the “IP sweet spot” – the space where your innovation is both protected and valuable. 

An IP strategy should never start with paperwork. It starts with purpose. It’s not about filing patents for the sake of it but about understanding why your company exists, what makes it different and how that difference can be safeguarded. 

Startups with registered IP are statistically ten times more likely to secure funding and twice as likely to achieve a successful exit. Investors understand that IP isn’t just legal armor — it’s a signal of credibility, maturity and long-term value creation. 

Patents tend to get the spotlight, but they are only one piece of a broader toolkit. Trademarks secure your identity in the market; designs protect the appearance of your product, whether physical or digital; and copyrights automatically cover original software or creative work. Trade secrets, meanwhile, protect confidential know-how – provided you actively take steps to keep that information secure. 

In digital health, IP protection often overlaps with data protection. Exclusive access to a dataset can be just as valuable as a patent – and combining data ownership with protected algorithms creates powerful competitive advantage. 

An effective IP strategy always starts with your business model. Before thinking about what to file, define your goals: what value are you creating, who benefits from it, and how do you intend to grow?

Once you understand your business direction, identify what truly sets you apart. Is it your algorithm? Your access to unique data? Your user interface, device design or brand? Whatever your differentiator, protect it – strategically and selectively. Not everything needs a patent; sometimes a trade secret or a strong contract achieves more.

The key is balance. Layer protections where it makes sense and ensure your IP approach grows with your business rather than limiting it. 

For startups working with large pharmaceutical companies, as most startups from our DayOne Accelerator aim to do, IP becomes a form of currency. It’s what determines whether you’re seen as a replaceable vendor or a strategic partner. 

Before any collaboration, make sure you have clear ownership of your technology and that your agreements define what belongs to you and what will be co-created. Know your “background IP” (what you bring in) and “foreground IP” (what’s developed together). Clarify how data, AI models and results can be used and who owns derived outputs. 

These details might sound technical, but they are crucial. They protect your long-term interests and ensure you can continue innovating independently even after a partnership ends. 

Patents disclose, trade secrets conceal – and the smartest companies use both. Patent what must be public to attract investors or demonstrate innovation leadership but protect the rest as confidential know-how. 

However, trade secrets require discipline. They remain valid only as long as the information is genuinely secret. Limit access to key employees, enforce non-disclosure agreements and keep a record of your security measures. Once confidentiality is lost, so is your protection. 

A robust IP strategy evolves as your company does. In the early stages, focus on ownership – ensure founders and contributors have clear agreements and that provisional filings cover core inventions. As you grow, refine your patent claims, register your trademarks, and define your brand. 

At scale, monitor competitors, expand protection geographically and use your IP as a strategic asset – whether through partnerships, licensing or fundraising. 

The goal isn’t to collect IP rights, but to build a foundation that protects innovation while enabling agility, collaboration and long-term growth. 

Healthtech startups operate at the crossroads of science, data, and innovation. Their ideas have the potential to transform healthcare – but only if they can protect and scale them effectively.  

A smart IP strategy does more than guard innovation; it amplifies it. It allows startups to collaborate confidently, attract the right partners and shape the future of healthcare on their own terms.

Interested in learning more about practical IP strategies for healthtech startups? Join us at the DayOne Innovation Showcase in Basel in December 2025 and meet with dynamXIP.