Intellectual Property Considerations

Abstract

This chapter discusses a general framework of how patents in the context of drug repurposing can be applied for, what their peculiarities and challenges are, and how the respective considerations should be an integral part of every drug repurposing program. While the intellectual property strategies that come into play here are not fundamentally different from those used in drug discovery there are specific issues to be considered, and specific opportunities to be exploited. One of these is the patenting of combination therapies driven by systems medicine approaches, which makes it easier for applicants to obtain formulation patents tailored for the new use. A snapshot of international drug repurposing patent applications published in July 2020 completes the chapter.