Coronavirus: Publication of Patents

In order to better clarify the current pandemic situation, A.G. da Cunha Ferreira has been noticing much activities in different social sectors, large companies and small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs)  companies, with the common purpose to find answers to fight the adverse effects that Portugal has been facing.

Everyone is looking for the best way to convert and adapt their businesses to the most urgent needs, by means of either equipment, extraordinary support, research centers and many more. We have been receiving many requests for information about potential new inventions that may help to this common fight.

The Portuguese Patent Office (INPI) announced today that it will soon make available on its website a document on “The importance of pharmaceutical industry patents for the treatment of COVID-19”, focusing on practical cases on the development of vaccines and the use of medicines with potential application to the Covid-19 fight.

In the same sense, Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas, O.A. (OEPM), is currently editing Technology Watch Bulletins about the subject “Coranovirus: diagnóstico y terapia en humanos”.

As far as we could ascertain, those bulletins will be intended to gather and process information about patent applications on coronaviruses, to which SARS‑CoV-2 belong.

Up to date, only number zero of the Technology Watch Bulletins was released, not yet focusing on SARS-CoV-2, but containing information about other beta-coronaviruses that cause epidemics, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, which are being used for comparative study of the novel Covid-19.

In addition, the OEOM is providing a technology alert “Coronavirus: Diagnóstico y terapia en humanos“ displaying all patent applications published in the last 365 days.

Usually, patent applications are only published 18 months after the filing date, so the publication of the existing patent applications relating to Covid-19 will take time, unless the applicants request anticipated publication of those applications and/or the applicants announce publicly the filing of a patent as it was the case for the Wuhan Institute of Virology on February 4, 2020.

In fact, the Wuhan Institute of Virology reported that it had filed a patent application in China on January 21, 2020 for the use of Remdesivir in the treatment of COVID-19.
Remdesivir is an anti-viral developed by the American company Gilead which is currently under clinical study evaluating the antiviral remdesivir in patients with COVID-19 disease.

A.G. da Cunha Ferreira, as far as possible, will keep you posted on any further developments in this regard. 

24 April 2020