Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemic
In the pharmaceutical sector, evergreening is considered a range of practices applied to extend monopoly protection on existing products. Filing several patent applications related to the same active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is one of the most common manifestations of evergreening. During the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1287542/full |
| _version_ | 1797403211244503040 |
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| author | María Lorena Bacigalupo María Florencia Pignataro Carolinne Thays Scopel Sergiy Kondratyuk Othoman Mellouk Gabriela Costa Chaves |
| author_facet | María Lorena Bacigalupo María Florencia Pignataro Carolinne Thays Scopel Sergiy Kondratyuk Othoman Mellouk Gabriela Costa Chaves |
| author_sort | María Lorena Bacigalupo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the pharmaceutical sector, evergreening is considered a range of practices applied to extend monopoly protection on existing products. Filing several patent applications related to the same active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is one of the most common manifestations of evergreening. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several health technologies were developed. This study aimed to analyze the extension of evergreening for selected health technologies for SARS-CoV-2 through patent filing strategies. Starting with the selection of three antivirals, one biological and two vaccines, a patent landscape was built based on public and private databases. Regarding these selected technologies, we analyzed some of the evergreening strategies used by different applicants, academic institutions or pharmaceutical companies and found a total of 29 applications (10 after the pandemic) for antivirals, 3 applications for a biological drug (1 after the pandemic), and 41 applications for vaccines (23 after the pandemic). Despite differences among the technologies, a common aspect found in all analyzed cases is the intense patent filing after the pandemic, aligned to the fact that those technologies were moving through the R&D process up to regulatory approval. The evergreening approach pursued has already been found in other diseases, with the risk of monopoly extension and also bringing legal uncertainty due to the lack of transparency of newer patent applications covering specific medical indications. Therefore, efforts to address evergreening should be pursued by countries, including the adoption of a public health approach to the patent examination of those technologies to prevent the granting of undeserved patents. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:35:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3f3cd794795b428598402289becbf8cc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-858X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:35:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-3f3cd794795b428598402289becbf8cc2023-12-06T08:35:51ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2023-12-011010.3389/fmed.2023.12875421287542Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemicMaría Lorena Bacigalupo0María Florencia Pignataro1Carolinne Thays Scopel2Sergiy Kondratyuk3Othoman Mellouk4Gabriela Costa Chaves5Independent Researcher, Rio Negro, ArgentinaIndependent Researcher, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaIndependent Researcher, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilInternational Treatment Preparedness Coalition Global (ITPC-Global), Bryanston, South AfricaInternational Treatment Preparedness Coalition Global (ITPC-Global), Bryanston, South AfricaIndependent Researcher, Ferney Voltaire, FranceIn the pharmaceutical sector, evergreening is considered a range of practices applied to extend monopoly protection on existing products. Filing several patent applications related to the same active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is one of the most common manifestations of evergreening. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several health technologies were developed. This study aimed to analyze the extension of evergreening for selected health technologies for SARS-CoV-2 through patent filing strategies. Starting with the selection of three antivirals, one biological and two vaccines, a patent landscape was built based on public and private databases. Regarding these selected technologies, we analyzed some of the evergreening strategies used by different applicants, academic institutions or pharmaceutical companies and found a total of 29 applications (10 after the pandemic) for antivirals, 3 applications for a biological drug (1 after the pandemic), and 41 applications for vaccines (23 after the pandemic). Despite differences among the technologies, a common aspect found in all analyzed cases is the intense patent filing after the pandemic, aligned to the fact that those technologies were moving through the R&D process up to regulatory approval. The evergreening approach pursued has already been found in other diseases, with the risk of monopoly extension and also bringing legal uncertainty due to the lack of transparency of newer patent applications covering specific medical indications. Therefore, efforts to address evergreening should be pursued by countries, including the adoption of a public health approach to the patent examination of those technologies to prevent the granting of undeserved patents.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1287542/fullEvergreeningCOVID-19health technologiesSARS-CoV-2patenting strategiesmonopoly |
| spellingShingle | María Lorena Bacigalupo María Florencia Pignataro Carolinne Thays Scopel Sergiy Kondratyuk Othoman Mellouk Gabriela Costa Chaves Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemic Frontiers in Medicine Evergreening COVID-19 health technologies SARS-CoV-2 patenting strategies monopoly |
| title | Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines: evergreening in the context of COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | unveiling patenting strategies of therapeutics and vaccines evergreening in the context of covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | Evergreening COVID-19 health technologies SARS-CoV-2 patenting strategies monopoly |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1287542/full |
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