A patent medicine, also known as Nostrum (our remedy), is a commercial product that is developed for the first time for a specific disease condition. It is initially sold under a brand name by which the physician can prescribe the drug for use of patients. Patent medicine is a concept, which means that only the pharmaceutical company that holds the patent is allowed to manufacture and make profit out of it. In most cases, drug patent is awarded for 20 years to pharmaceutical companies. Moreover, sometimes the period of patent for drug has different lifespan in years according to its utility and in the country in which patent is been applied for approval. The effective period for patent drug is mostly seven to twelve years, as a company applies for patent prior to clinical trials to assess drug safety.

Global Patent Medicine Market Drivers

Patent medicine market is going to develop in coming over the forecast period, thus it will exhibit significant growth for pharmaceutical products due to increasing prevalence of diseases across the world. There are hundreds of medicine patent launches every year. For instance, in July 2020, Pfizer Inc. submitted a patent application of tofacitinib oral sustained release form indicated for treatment of lupus, multiple sclerosis rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. Furthermore, in July 2020, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA patented dried saponin liposomal composition used in lyophilised form of immunogenic vaccine composition. Medicine patents are equally important for pharmaceutical companies. Patented products roughly generate half of revenue for pharmaceutical companies.

Global Patent Medicine Market - Impact of COVID-19

Sudden difficult situation of COVID-19 pandemic is affecting industries across the world. However, several industries are trying to overcome the financial situation. COVID-19 has affected the research and development in some fields of pharmaceutical industry, whereas surgical pharmaceutical industry is experiencing significant growth in patent filing due to rise in research and development in masks, infra-red thermometers, diagnostic kits, and mechanical ventilators.

Global Patent Medicine Market Restraints

However, high cost of patent medicine as compared to generic medicine is expected to hamper growth of the patent medicine market. Generic medicine manufacturing companies incur less costs in developing generic medicines when compared to branded drug manufacturers. Moreover, majority of the pharmaceutical companies practise ‘Patent Ever-greening’, which means that they try to incur more revenue/profit by making minor changes in existing product using same base formula but different chemical structure formula and secure patent on it, thereby claiming it novel. Furthermore, patients in underdeveloped countries cannot afford patented medicines due to high cost. These factors are expected to restrain the global patent medicine market growth over the forecast period.

Global Patent Medicine Market - Regional Analysis.

On the basis of region, the global patent medicine market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. The North America patent medicine system is effective and attracts investments from companies who want profit from pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. are investing in research and development of novel medicines. For instance, in July 2020, Pfizer Inc patented its substituted carbonucleoside derivatives useful as anticancer agents. Key players in region are Pfizer Inc and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Moreover, Europe has a growing market for pharmaceutical companies due to its increasing elderly population, above average expenditure on drugs, and robust use of branded drugs over generic equivalents. Therefore, the pharmaceutical companies in this region are focusing on research and development of novel medicines. For instance, in May 2020, Sanofi Pasteur Biologicals patented pharmaceutical composition containing toxins A and B, which increase stability of toxin in drug.

Furthermore, manufacturers in Asia Pacific region are increasing their focus on research and development in patent medicine market. For instance, in April 2020, Otsuka Pharmaceutical co., ltd, Japan, patented Cyanotriazole compounds, which improve hyperglycemia with less side effects and excellent safety and is useful in treating diabetes.

Global Patent Medicine Market - Competitive Landscape.

Key players operating in the global patent medicine market include Pfizer Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis International AG, Sanofi S.A, Merck & Co., Inc., Roche Holding AG, Amgen Inc, and AbbVie Inc.

Key Developments

In 2015, Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY) and Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (Rahway, NJ) presented invention related to combination therapies useful for the treatment of cancer. In particular, the invention relates to a combination therapy, which comprises an antagonist of a Programmed Death 1 protein (PD-1) and an inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK).
In April 2020, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo) patented invention related to an injectable preparation comprising 7-[4-(4-benzo[b]thiophen-4-yl-piperazin-1-yl)butoxy]-1H-quinolin-2-one or a salt, which has a wide therapeutic spectrum for central nervous system diseases (particularly schizophrenia)
In June 2020, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA patented invention related to immunogenic compositions such as vaccines, comprising immunogenic polypeptides from Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis, which is used for boosting immune response.

Global Patent Medicine Market – Taxonomy

By Medicine Type
- Solid Drug Products
- Semi-solid Drug Products
- Liquid Drug Products
- Gas/aerosols Drug Products
- Others
By Indication
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Respiratory Disease
- Immunological Disease
- Blood Disease
- Gastrointestinal Disease
- Ophthalmic Disease
- Orthopedic Disease
- Neurodegenerative Disease
- Others
By Region
- North America
- Latent America
- Europe
- Asia Pacific
- Middle East
- Africa