14 August 2020Big PharmaJakob Wested and John Liddicoat
The right recipe for the repurposing omelette
The repurposing of drugs that have been approved for treating other viruses has gained unprecedented media attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawyers persistently criticise second medical use patent claims as pointless, yet pharmaceutical companies continue to obtain and litigate them. Second medical use patents are probably valuable only occasionally and if standing alone, they are an unstable foundation for a business model.
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