Penelope Farbey
Key details
- Job title: Principal
- Firm: Wrays IP
- Jurisdiction: Australia, New Zealand
Penelope Farbey is a principal at Wrays, and in February 2026 was appointed a Rouse Group principal, further strengthening the group’s capabilities across key practice areas.
She joined Wrays in 2001 after completing a PhD in molecular microbiology and undertaking post-doctoral research at leading universities.
She is a registered patent and trademark attorney in Australia and New Zealand, with more than 25 years’ experience advising on the development and management of intellectual property portfolios. Her practice focuses on biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and agri-biotech, particularly for small to medium biotechnology companies, universities and spin-outs.
Farbey advises on drafting and prosecuting Australian and overseas-originating patent applications, and has significant experience in patent oppositions, infringement, revocation proceedings, and validity and due diligence opinions.
She also supports Wrays’ litigation team on contentious matters, contributing scientific and technical insight in disputes involving complex life sciences subject matter.
Her work centres on aligning IP strategy with commercial objectives, with a strong emphasis on long-term collaboration with clients and engagement with emerging scientific developments.
She works closely with scientists at the forefront of biotechnology research, particularly in Western Australia.
Her clients include organisations such as Respirion Pharma, Emyria, Dimerix Bioscience, Botanix Pharmaceuticals, Lixa, VitalTrace and Formo.
Farbey is a fellow of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA) and is active in AusBiotech and the ChIPs Network.
She is also engaged in promoting inclusion and equality within the IP and innovation community, with a particular focus on supporting women-led startups.