Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Technology road mapping for innovation pathways of fibrates: a cross-database patent review

Xiao-Wen Hu, Hao Hu , Xiu-Ping Chen, Yuanjia Hu

State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao;

For correspondence:- Hao Hu Email: haohu@umac.mo Tel:+85388228538

Received: 14 April 2015 Accepted: 7 July 2015 Published: 30 August 2015

Citation: Hu X, Hu H, Chen X, Hu Y. Technology road mapping for innovation pathways of fibrates: a cross-database patent review. Trop J Pharm Res 2015; 14(8):1459-1467 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v14i8.19

© 2015 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To examine international technology development of fibrates based on a cross-database quantitative patent review and to describe the evolution pathway for fibrates by means of a technology roadmap.

Methods: The patent data were collected in March 2013 from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO) and China Intellectual Property Right Net (CNIPR) to broadly represent global patent activities.

Results: This study selected and examined 84 patents from USPTO, 41 patents from EPO and 39 patents from CNIPR. It showed that most of the fibrate patents were fenofibrate patents (41.67 % at USPTO, 46.34 % at EPO and 33.33 % at CNIPR). The number of preparation patents (44 at USPTO, 24 at EPO and 17 at CNIPR) and combination patents (23 at USPTO, 11 at EPO and 15 at CNIPR) was obviously larger than other types of fibrate patents. The technology roadmap shows that new monomersor derivatives of fibrates can drive fibrate evolution into a new cycle of application-synthesis-combination-preparation.

Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive picture of fibrate development. It will aid researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers to identify foci for fibrate research and ensure better decision-making.

Keywords: Cross-database, Evolution pathway, Fibrates, Patent review, Technology roadmap