Pat-INFORMED – The Gateway to Medicine Patent Information

WIPO and IFPMA have launched an online tool designed to help procurement agencies better understand the global patent status of medicines.

The Patent Information Initiative for Medicines (Pat-INFORMED) is a unique resource where patent holders provide information about patents covering approved medicines through a free, open access database. It features patent information for small molecule drugs within oncology; hepatitis C, cardiovascular, HIV, diabetes, and respiratory therapy areas; and any products on the WHO EML that are not within these therapy areas. In a second phase, the initiative will extend to all therapeutic areas and explore the inclusion of complex therapeutics.

The world today is a much better and healthier place than it was 50 years ago. Over the last decade alone, there have been dramatic improvements in treatments that have transformed the lives of patients. These include new treatments for HIV, hepatitis C, oncology and many other diseases. Patents, as an important tool that supports the innovation process, have made these achievements possible.

While information about patent applications and grants reside in the public domain, resources that directly link patents to medicines already on the market are scarce and limited. Tools that directly link granted patents to medicines are only available publicly in certain countries (e.g. the USA’s ‘Orange Book’) or through private third-party databases.

Pat-INFORMED, a private-public partnership between the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the specialized UN agency, and the research-based pharmaceutical industry, is a practical step in helping to reduce the complexity surrounding patent information and make it easier for procurement experts to search the patent status of medicines.

Furthermore, Pat-INFORMED also offers procurement experts a direct communication channel for follow-on enquiries to participating companies. Each of the participating companies has agreed to engage in discussions with official procurement agencies that are seeking more detailed information about granted patents on specific products.

So far, Pat-INFORMED houses information on over 14,000 individual patents, for 600 patent families and 169 INNs, unique names that are globally recognized and used to identify pharmaceutical substances or active pharmaceutical ingredients within medicines that cover a wide range of conditions.

“As a public-private partnership focusing on access to key patent information, Pat-INFORMED will facilitate the procurement of important medicines and thereby support better health outcomes for people across the globe. Such partnerships are critical to success in the field of public health,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

14 000

Pat-INFORMED houses information on over 14 000 individual patents, for 600 patent families

169

To date, Pat-INFORMED houses information on 169 INNs

30%

Pat-INFORMED has the potential to reduce by 30% the time required to procure medicines for LMICs