Analysis of patents on anti-rheumatoid arthritis therapies issued in China

Abstract

Introduction: The etiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is complex and diverse. Chronic inflammatory processes with joint dysfunction can cause permanent disability. Therefore, the development of new drugs and therapies for RA is very important.

Areas covered: This review analyzes the existing patents on anti-RA products in China to help pharmaceutical companies and individuals patent potential candidate drugs for RA treatment.

Expert opinion: Three hundred and seventeen patents were analyzed, including 172 patents for Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs, 54.2%), 65 for synthetic compounds (20.5%), 55 for biological products (17.4%) and 25 patents for the drug preparation process (7.9%). Among the TCM patents, 73.8% were of various preparations for different Chinese medicines, 23.8% were of herbal extracts and 2.3% were of herbal extract derivatives. Synthetic compounds were involved in more than 30 targets, some small-molecule drugs that target signaling kinases such as p38 MAPK, Janus kinase may become important directions in the management of RA. Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) are the most efficacious drugs for RA treatment. As the classic therapeutic target in RA, TNF-α has the largest number of bDMARD patents. In addition, it is expected that new targets such as high-mobility group protein B1, thioredoxin domain-containing protein 5 (TXNDC5) and B lymphocyte stimulator (BlyS) will play a significant role in RA as potential targets for new treatments. The largest number of all the published patent applications are claiming TCMs, which may provide substantial new information for anti-RA drug development. The largest number of all the published patent applications are claiming TCMs, which may provide huge information for anti-RA drug development.

Keywords:

• biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs
• Chinese patent
• rheumatoid arthritis
• traditional Chinese medicine

Declaration of interest

This project was sponsored by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31340073, 81273274, and 30972822); the Six Talents Peak projects of Jiangsu Province (to 2014-WSN-007); the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, National Major Scientific, Technological Special Project for “Significant New Drugs Development” (2011ZX09302-003-02), Jiangsu Province Major Scientific and Technological Special Project (BM2011017), and Jiangsu Province’s Key Provincial Talents Program (RC201170). The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Notes

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