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Intellectual property trends
update
news
PSTT Vol. 1, No. 5 August 1998
Intellectual property trends David Hughes, Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Today, tel: 144 1223 315961, fax: 144 1223 464430, e-mail: [email protected]
In the June issue of Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Today, Richard Binns and Bryan Driscoll highlighted some of the key elements of intellectual property (IP) that companies, particularly technology partners, should be aware of1. For the scientist–manager in a small enterprise or academic start-up, getting to grips with IP can be an intimidating challenge, particularly when these efforts are superimposed on the major workload of their core activities. The new Head of Marketing at the UK Patent Office has urged companies to realize the benefits of adopting a fully informed IP strategy. ‘Ownership of intellectual property rights such as copyright, trade marks, designs or patents, or the licence to use these rights, presents opportunities to make money,’ says Brian Caswell. ‘We want firms to welcome these opportunities.’ A report recently published by Derwent entitled Managing Patent Information: the Gulf Between Theory and Practice analysed feedback from respondents to a European telephone survey of large corporations and small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The respondents were spread across a range of industrial sectors including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering and electronics.
National differences The findings highlighted some national trends. For example, UK managers had a poorer understanding of the role of patents relative to their European counterparts. Although most companies (85%) considered patents to be vital to their future development (with 84% having an active patent policy), only 42% performed regular patent audits. For most companies, the number of patents filed had increased significantly in the past 10 years. It remains clear that in the pharmaceutical, chemical and electronics industries, patent ownership is very important in the protection of products in development and on the market. Some 89% of respondents cited the primary motivation to patent as the key reason for filing a patent. Only 10% indicated that their major reason would be to block the product development of a competitor. More than 90% of respondents consider patent ownership to be very important to the R&D process, although only 66% agreed that patent volume reflects the degree of innovation of a company. Some 54% indicated that, at some stage in the company’s development, a patent had been filed that significantly changed its fortunes.
Competitive intelligence Some 89% of respondents concurred that monitoring of patents filed by competitors is an effective way to obtain competitive intelligence, and 82% of respondents do commit time and resources to this activity. Of those companies that did not own patents, the primary reason was that patents were not relevant to their particular business. The second most significant reason was that companies were deterred by the complicated process involved in making an application for a patent. In the light of recent discussions about the cost of the patent process in Europe, it was surprising that only one respondent indicated this to be a factor in discouraging patent filing. It seems likely that the increasing trend to patent and to ensure awareness of competitor patents is likely to continue. However, as the UK Patent Office indicates, it is the small companies in particular that are reluctant to take advice on patents and registered designs. Perhaps, as a result, small companies are the most likely to become involved in litigation. Reference 01 Binns, R. and Driscoll, B. (1998) Pharm. Sci. Technol. Today 1, 95–99
Options for Viagra failures Adrian Smith, Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Today, tel: 144 1223 315961, fax: 144 1223 464430, e-mail: [email protected]
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is estimated to affect two million males in the UK alone, with prevalence thought to be approximately 5% in men of 40 years of age and increasing to 15–25% in males aged 65 years and over. The causes of ED may be psychogenic through anxiety, fear or depression, but there may also be organic reasons such as defective arterial blood supply and
188
venous drainage, defects in erectile tissues and neurological or hormonal abnormalities. The condition may also be drug-related (whether taken therapeutically or abused). Some ED patients do not respond to Viagra (sildenafil), a tablet-based product manufactured by Pfizer for the management of ED. At the 93rd Annual Meeting of the American
Urological Association (30 May–4 June 1998, San Diego, CA, USA) speakers predicted that the launch of Viagra would ultimately create greater demand for alternative treatments for the condition, such as injection therapy. In addition, the concurrent use of several other medications preclude the use of Viagra. For example, at the meeting Ridwan Shabsigh,
Copyright ©1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 1461-5347/98/$19.00.
news
PSTT Vol. 1, No. 5 August 1998
Intellectual property trends David Hughes, Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Today, tel: 144 1223 315961, fax: 144 1223 464430, e-mail: [email protected]
In the June issue of Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Today, Richard Binns and Bryan Driscoll highlighted some of the key elements of intellectual property (IP) that companies, particularly technology partners, should be aware of1. For the scientist–manager in a small enterprise or academic start-up, getting to grips with IP can be an intimidating challenge, particularly when these efforts are superimposed on the major workload of their core activities. The new Head of Marketing at the UK Patent Office has urged companies to realize the benefits of adopting a fully informed IP strategy. ‘Ownership of intellectual property rights such as copyright, trade marks, designs or patents, or the licence to use these rights, presents opportunities to make money,’ says Brian Caswell. ‘We want firms to welcome these opportunities.’ A report recently published by Derwent entitled Managing Patent Information: the Gulf Between Theory and Practice analysed feedback from respondents to a European telephone survey of large corporations and small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The respondents were spread across a range of industrial sectors including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering and electronics.
National differences The findings highlighted some national trends. For example, UK managers had a poorer understanding of the role of patents relative to their European counterparts. Although most companies (85%) considered patents to be vital to their future development (with 84% having an active patent policy), only 42% performed regular patent audits. For most companies, the number of patents filed had increased significantly in the past 10 years. It remains clear that in the pharmaceutical, chemical and electronics industries, patent ownership is very important in the protection of products in development and on the market. Some 89% of respondents cited the primary motivation to patent as the key reason for filing a patent. Only 10% indicated that their major reason would be to block the product development of a competitor. More than 90% of respondents consider patent ownership to be very important to the R&D process, although only 66% agreed that patent volume reflects the degree of innovation of a company. Some 54% indicated that, at some stage in the company’s development, a patent had been filed that significantly changed its fortunes.
Competitive intelligence Some 89% of respondents concurred that monitoring of patents filed by competitors is an effective way to obtain competitive intelligence, and 82% of respondents do commit time and resources to this activity. Of those companies that did not own patents, the primary reason was that patents were not relevant to their particular business. The second most significant reason was that companies were deterred by the complicated process involved in making an application for a patent. In the light of recent discussions about the cost of the patent process in Europe, it was surprising that only one respondent indicated this to be a factor in discouraging patent filing. It seems likely that the increasing trend to patent and to ensure awareness of competitor patents is likely to continue. However, as the UK Patent Office indicates, it is the small companies in particular that are reluctant to take advice on patents and registered designs. Perhaps, as a result, small companies are the most likely to become involved in litigation. Reference 01 Binns, R. and Driscoll, B. (1998) Pharm. Sci. Technol. Today 1, 95–99
Options for Viagra failures Adrian Smith, Pharmaceutical Science & Technology Today, tel: 144 1223 315961, fax: 144 1223 464430, e-mail: [email protected]
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is estimated to affect two million males in the UK alone, with prevalence thought to be approximately 5% in men of 40 years of age and increasing to 15–25% in males aged 65 years and over. The causes of ED may be psychogenic through anxiety, fear or depression, but there may also be organic reasons such as defective arterial blood supply and
188
venous drainage, defects in erectile tissues and neurological or hormonal abnormalities. The condition may also be drug-related (whether taken therapeutically or abused). Some ED patients do not respond to Viagra (sildenafil), a tablet-based product manufactured by Pfizer for the management of ED. At the 93rd Annual Meeting of the American
Urological Association (30 May–4 June 1998, San Diego, CA, USA) speakers predicted that the launch of Viagra would ultimately create greater demand for alternative treatments for the condition, such as injection therapy. In addition, the concurrent use of several other medications preclude the use of Viagra. For example, at the meeting Ridwan Shabsigh,
Copyright ©1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 1461-5347/98/$19.00.