- Email: [email protected]
Pharmaceutical patent analyst – FutureScience publishing
World Patent Information 34 (2012) 317–318
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
World Patent Information journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/worpatin
Journal review
Pharmaceutical patent analyst – FutureScience publishing
My first reaction on hearing of a new journal called Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst was “Oh, good – a new journal for pharmaceutical patent analysts.” But alas, no. The name is something of a mis-nomer, at least for those in the patent information profession; this journal is neither for patent analysts, nor about the profession of patent analysis. It is, rather, a journal for scientific researchers, pulling together reviews of the latest patent applications in various medical/pharmaceutical research areas. The self-declared aim of Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst (PPA) is “. to make the essential content of key patents accessible in a concise and enriched form to those who require the information; and to provide timely commentary on important issues related to IP 0172-2190/$ – see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wpi.2012.07.006
law” [1]. It is therefore deemed an “.essential resource for assisting researchers to focus their own patent-information retrieval and analysis.” [ibid] The publishers believe it will also appeal to IP specialists, legal professionals and technology-transfer officers. PPA states that it “.seeks to fill a gap in the literature” [2], which must come as a surprise to Informa Healthcare, whose Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents [3] has for twenty years been reviewing pharmaceutical patent applications across various medical therapy areas. Pharma patent analysts were probably also aware of Current Patents, a journal taken over by Thomson Reuters and since subsumed into other of its products, which also focused on new applications in the pharma area. So the concept of a patent review journal for the pharmaceutical sector is not new. However, where PPA appears to perceive the “gap”, seems to be in also providing some IP-related commentary on patenting issues, as well as the therapeutic area reviews of recent applications. This may be what FutureScience believes will make it of interest to IP Specialists, although I suspect that patent attorneys are unlikely to read a journal containing what – to them – will be rather broad or simplistic summaries of patent law, aimed primarily at researchers. I’m therefore somewhat dubious about the claimed audience for this publication among IP/Legal professionals, but nonetheless any publication raising the profile of patent literature among scientific researchers can only be welcome. Two issues of PPA were freely available at the time of writing, March 2012 and May 2012. Four issues are planned for 2012 as a whole. The journal will be a peer-reviewed, rapid-publication platform, featuring sections such as Editorials, Hot Topics, News, Commentary, Patent Highlights and/or Patent Reviews. The first issues have encompassed Editorials on: a History of generic substitution in the USA; Role of patent analysis in corporate R&D; Emerging patents for cancer-targeted nanomedicines; and Harmony and BLys in Europe and the UK, this last detailing the legal scrimmaging going on in various courts over patent rights to the antibody product Benlysta. Other legal issues have been summarised in articles on the EPO’s “Raising the Bar” initiative; the America Invents Act of 2011; second medical indications in pharmaceutical EP applications (allowability or otherwise of ‘Swiss-type’ claims); and the potential Unitary European patent (‘Community’ patent). These articles are pitched at a level appropriate for non-attorney readers, and are therefore certainly accessible to patent information professionals seeking a short summary of the issues in a given area of patent law. The Patent Highlights section focuses on some individual applications, and Patent Reviews are full-blown articles covering
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M.M. Rainey / World Patent Information 34 (2012) 317–318
applications across a therapeutic area. Patent Highlights covers only about a dozen (PCT) cases published in a two-month period, and as such, is obviously highly selective. Researchers will surely have their own patent alerts running which are much more specific to their own needs, and what, in any case, is the basis for selection of these particular cases to ‘highlight’? It’s not made clear why these ones are significant over the many others also published during this period. Patent Reviews are much longer pieces, being 10-20 pages of summary of patenting activity across a therapeutic area, and there are several of these per issue. They vary in content, from details of individual applications and their relevance to the field plus detailed analyses of patenting in that field by specific companies most active in it, to broader overviews of an area with key patents picked out for attention. All give a good summary of the field being reviewed, and would be a useful introduction to areas not your own speciality, or for patent analysts needing a quick guide as to where to begin. The references section is nicely done, with scientific papers of “interest” or “considerable interest” being flagged, with the patent applications discussed being listed separately, and the websites referred to also listed separately, so that everything is easy to find, rather than one long mixed up list of references of all types. If you come to PPA expecting to learn anything about patent searching, I fear you’ll be disappointed. If you come to it for articles on patent law, you may or may not learn something, depending on your own level of knowledge. If you come to it for scientific background of a therapeutic area with a patent focus, you’ve probably found your niche. Don’t expect comprehensive information on
every patent in any given area, though; as we all know, no search (or review article) is ever truly comprehensive. Use it as a guide, or a place to start, and you may find it helpful, as long as your particular therapy area of interest has been covered. Even if it’s not aimed at patent analysts, those analysts in academia or industry may wish to draw this journal to the attention of their research colleagues or company libraries. And keep one eye on future issues themselves. Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst (ISSN 2046-8954), published by FutureScience http://www.future-science.com/loi/ppa. Four issues are due in 2012; costs are: personal 4 issues £1250/$2000 academic 4 issues £1225/$2145 print; £1105/$1940 electronic corporate – dependent on company size
References [1] Jones LH, Rotella DP, D’Oca G. Welcome to pharmaceutical patent analyst. Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst March 2012;1(1):1–2. [2] D’Oca G. A peek inside the launch issue. Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst March 2012;1(1):3–4. [3] Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents, http://informahealthcare.com/journal/etp.
Margaret M. Rainey Manager, Patent Information, GlaxoSmithKline Global Patents Dept., Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9GS, UK E-mail address: [email protected]
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
World Patent Information journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/worpatin
Journal review
Pharmaceutical patent analyst – FutureScience publishing
My first reaction on hearing of a new journal called Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst was “Oh, good – a new journal for pharmaceutical patent analysts.” But alas, no. The name is something of a mis-nomer, at least for those in the patent information profession; this journal is neither for patent analysts, nor about the profession of patent analysis. It is, rather, a journal for scientific researchers, pulling together reviews of the latest patent applications in various medical/pharmaceutical research areas. The self-declared aim of Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst (PPA) is “. to make the essential content of key patents accessible in a concise and enriched form to those who require the information; and to provide timely commentary on important issues related to IP 0172-2190/$ – see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wpi.2012.07.006
law” [1]. It is therefore deemed an “.essential resource for assisting researchers to focus their own patent-information retrieval and analysis.” [ibid] The publishers believe it will also appeal to IP specialists, legal professionals and technology-transfer officers. PPA states that it “.seeks to fill a gap in the literature” [2], which must come as a surprise to Informa Healthcare, whose Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents [3] has for twenty years been reviewing pharmaceutical patent applications across various medical therapy areas. Pharma patent analysts were probably also aware of Current Patents, a journal taken over by Thomson Reuters and since subsumed into other of its products, which also focused on new applications in the pharma area. So the concept of a patent review journal for the pharmaceutical sector is not new. However, where PPA appears to perceive the “gap”, seems to be in also providing some IP-related commentary on patenting issues, as well as the therapeutic area reviews of recent applications. This may be what FutureScience believes will make it of interest to IP Specialists, although I suspect that patent attorneys are unlikely to read a journal containing what – to them – will be rather broad or simplistic summaries of patent law, aimed primarily at researchers. I’m therefore somewhat dubious about the claimed audience for this publication among IP/Legal professionals, but nonetheless any publication raising the profile of patent literature among scientific researchers can only be welcome. Two issues of PPA were freely available at the time of writing, March 2012 and May 2012. Four issues are planned for 2012 as a whole. The journal will be a peer-reviewed, rapid-publication platform, featuring sections such as Editorials, Hot Topics, News, Commentary, Patent Highlights and/or Patent Reviews. The first issues have encompassed Editorials on: a History of generic substitution in the USA; Role of patent analysis in corporate R&D; Emerging patents for cancer-targeted nanomedicines; and Harmony and BLys in Europe and the UK, this last detailing the legal scrimmaging going on in various courts over patent rights to the antibody product Benlysta. Other legal issues have been summarised in articles on the EPO’s “Raising the Bar” initiative; the America Invents Act of 2011; second medical indications in pharmaceutical EP applications (allowability or otherwise of ‘Swiss-type’ claims); and the potential Unitary European patent (‘Community’ patent). These articles are pitched at a level appropriate for non-attorney readers, and are therefore certainly accessible to patent information professionals seeking a short summary of the issues in a given area of patent law. The Patent Highlights section focuses on some individual applications, and Patent Reviews are full-blown articles covering
318
M.M. Rainey / World Patent Information 34 (2012) 317–318
applications across a therapeutic area. Patent Highlights covers only about a dozen (PCT) cases published in a two-month period, and as such, is obviously highly selective. Researchers will surely have their own patent alerts running which are much more specific to their own needs, and what, in any case, is the basis for selection of these particular cases to ‘highlight’? It’s not made clear why these ones are significant over the many others also published during this period. Patent Reviews are much longer pieces, being 10-20 pages of summary of patenting activity across a therapeutic area, and there are several of these per issue. They vary in content, from details of individual applications and their relevance to the field plus detailed analyses of patenting in that field by specific companies most active in it, to broader overviews of an area with key patents picked out for attention. All give a good summary of the field being reviewed, and would be a useful introduction to areas not your own speciality, or for patent analysts needing a quick guide as to where to begin. The references section is nicely done, with scientific papers of “interest” or “considerable interest” being flagged, with the patent applications discussed being listed separately, and the websites referred to also listed separately, so that everything is easy to find, rather than one long mixed up list of references of all types. If you come to PPA expecting to learn anything about patent searching, I fear you’ll be disappointed. If you come to it for articles on patent law, you may or may not learn something, depending on your own level of knowledge. If you come to it for scientific background of a therapeutic area with a patent focus, you’ve probably found your niche. Don’t expect comprehensive information on
every patent in any given area, though; as we all know, no search (or review article) is ever truly comprehensive. Use it as a guide, or a place to start, and you may find it helpful, as long as your particular therapy area of interest has been covered. Even if it’s not aimed at patent analysts, those analysts in academia or industry may wish to draw this journal to the attention of their research colleagues or company libraries. And keep one eye on future issues themselves. Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst (ISSN 2046-8954), published by FutureScience http://www.future-science.com/loi/ppa. Four issues are due in 2012; costs are: personal 4 issues £1250/$2000 academic 4 issues £1225/$2145 print; £1105/$1940 electronic corporate – dependent on company size
References [1] Jones LH, Rotella DP, D’Oca G. Welcome to pharmaceutical patent analyst. Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst March 2012;1(1):1–2. [2] D’Oca G. A peek inside the launch issue. Pharmaceutical Patent Analyst March 2012;1(1):3–4. [3] Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents, http://informahealthcare.com/journal/etp.
Margaret M. Rainey Manager, Patent Information, GlaxoSmithKline Global Patents Dept., Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9GS, UK E-mail address: [email protected]