Medical and Dental Patent Lawyer & Attorrney : John Rizvi : Gold & Rizvi Law Firm : Florida, Serving Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, Florida

       Merck & Co, Inc., in collaboration with Arena Pharmaceuticals, is taking a patent pending drug into Phase One of a clinical trial (PharmaLive, January 25, 2008). Merck's second generation niacin receptor agonist is a combatant to artherosclerosis.

        Will the patented drug enter the market?

        According to Arena Pharmaceuticals' President and CEO Jack Lief, so far, so good. This particular trial is part of a larger collaboration between Merck and Arena to discover patented ways to treat artherosclerosis and other disorders. While a recent investigation of MK-0354 broke down in the preclinical trial phase, Lief remains optimistic about the progress they've made with this new drug.
      
       Artherosclerosis accounts for the greatest number of cholesterol-related deaths. So, it makes sense that Merck wants to contribute with drugs aimed at its demise. As a Florida patent attorney, I see pharmaceutical companies racing to market with ever new and innovative solutions to patient ills.

        A great deal of money is spent on patenting drugs that ultimately fail before reaching the market. You might wonder if its worth it. Ask the pharmaceutical companies, however, and the answer is a resounding and emphatic "Yes!" Financial market analysts agree. Patented brand name drugs net huge returns.

        And, as a Florida Patent Attorney who watches the business and financial worlds closely, I can attest to the fact that patents are the driving force behind profits in each and every category.

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    I posted the information below in a separate blog I run for people interested in non-medical patents. However, I thought it would be of use to this community as well.

    The question being discussed is how 'at-risk' patent holders are for having their patents revoked. And the short answer is...very little.

    . The United States Patent and Trademark Office doesn't make it easy to get a patent. Florida patent attorneys like myself work through excruciating details to secure the approval of our clients' patent applications. The USPTO also expends significant resources in determining an inventor's eligibility for patent protection and is necessarily reluctant to take a patent away once it's been issued--absent strong evidence that a mistake was made.

    I read an article yesterday about the USPTO's decision to tentatively nullify four patents held by Gilead Sciences, which cover a drug that treats AIDS patients (San Jose Mercury News, January 24, 2008). A consumer advocacy group up the coast from Florida (in New York) called the Public Patent Foundation is the third-party challenger in this case, claiming Gilead's patents are invalid, because they'd publicly disclosed the technology behind the drug.

    This brings up something I consistently counsel Florida patent seekers (and patent seekers everywhere) against. It is vitally important not to publicly disclose your idea--and in fact not to disclose it except under absolute necessity--before filing for a patent. The USPTO can, and certainly will, reject a patent application for an idea already in the public eye.

    Now, I doubt that Gilead, having already secured their four patents, will have their patents revoked. (Even the Public Patent Foundation admits the unlikeliness of this.) And, Gilead, which earned $3.1 Billion in sales based on their patents, says they will "vigorously defend each and every claim." With that big a business riding on it, I'm sure they will.

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       Applied DNA Sciences has filed multiple patent applications for technologies that serve to protect the authenticity of patented branded products (Medical Patent News, January 23, 2008). The technology works within hand-held scanners, which optically read their "SigNature DNA," a coding embedded by Applied DNA Sciences.

    As a U.S. Registered Florida Patent Attorney, I find this concept interesting. The idea behind it is preserving the authenticity of our patented products. And, authenticity is a key element in medical patents and, for that matter, any kind of patent. In the medical field, for one, we know that drug patents are among the most highly prized and valuable patents you can hold.

    Think of authenticity as a broader platform in the medical community. What brands of supplies, pharmaceuticals, and equipment do you trust most? Which feel, as the Coke slogan goes, like "the real thing"? No doubt others in the medical field feel strongly about particular (patented) brands.

    Patients, too, find comfort in brands they know and trust. Are you in the process of inventing something for use by medical staff? By patients? How are you imbuing authenticity within your product's concept? When an idea is innovative enough, being first is itself the strongest voice of authenticity.

    In this vein, you can see why patenting is so important. So, I'm interested in Applied DNA Sciences' hopefully soon-to-be-patented authenticator. And, interested in seeing of others are as interested in authenticity as I am.

    If you're interested in authenticating your medical invention with a patent, contact me at 866-433-2288 or JohnRizvi@IdeaAttorneys.com.

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       As a Florida Patent Attorney, I track the news relevant to innovators in the medical field and post them here in my blog. Rather than straight reporting, one of the things I do is to give you insights you can use in your own innovations. For instance, today I read that the U.S. Patent Office has issued a patent for Hythiam Inc.'s PROMETA® alcohol and chemical dependence treatment program. I'll give you the scoop on what their patent covers, but I'll also point out the larger health trends the patent links to with the aim of spurring on your own ideation development.

       First, the scoop.

       According to an article at PharmaLive.com (Business Wire, LA, January 10, 2008) PROMETA® is a patented treatment program designed for healthcare providers with patients dependent on alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine independently or in combination. It's a holistic treatment program that incorporates nutritional supplements, psychosocial/other therapies chosen by the patient and her treatment provider, and FDA-approved medication given orally and intravenously, which are "separately administered in a unique dosing algorithm."

        As with any treatment program, PROMETA® was developed with the goal of "sustained recovery," What makes it patentable is partly the specifics of the integrated approach and partly the integration itself, which comes at alcohol and chemical addiction from disparate perspectives: the psychology of the individual on his own and in regard to his social environment, his physical health and potentially associated nutritional deficiencies, and a medical/pharmacological perspective.

       And, herein lies the insight.

       This treatment program fuses three macro cultural trends: 1.) An increasing emphasis on the mind-body connection; 2.) an underlying belief that no one perspective is universally "right;" and 3.) a belief that success with patients is borne partly in their own sense of responsibility and involvement.

         Interest in the mind-body connection in particular is a trend that has continued to grow over the last several years, and you can see this in patented products in virtually every category, including fitness, publishing, alternative health practices, the expansion of nutraceuticals into even our soda, etc.

        So, looking at the innovation you're currently or considering working on: Do any of these trends factor in? Could/should they? Or, is there another macro trend evident in your design? Honing in on a trend at play in the larger culture is a way of sharpening your idea and its development. I'm always looking for ways larger cultural trends impact and push forward innovation and would love to help keep the good ideas going with patents and trademarks that protect original, ingenious thinking.

        Contact me if you have an idea you'd like to protect - (866) 433-2288.

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