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9 November 2018Americas

Roche, Boehringer and AbbVie have strong pot portfolios: report

The strongest cannabidiol (CBD) patent portfolios are owned by Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, and AbbVie, according to a report released earlier this week.

IP management firm Clarivate Analytics released its “ Money in the Pot” report on Wednesday, November 7.

Clarivate’s report found that tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound derived from cannabis, is the most common cannabinoid compound mentioned in patent filings in the cannabis sphere.

Second favourite is CBD, the naturally occurring cannabinoid constituent of cannabis.

The main areas of cannabis innovation are focused on the treatment of pain and inflammation, and on the combination of CBD and devices, the report found.

Clarivate predicted that device activity will be a key emerging technology when it comes to future patent filings in the sector.

In terms of who is filing, Clarivate identified Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, and AbbVie as owning the strongest CBD portfolios.

Clarivate measured the quality and strength of portfolios by analysing elements like the breadth of geographic filing, the existence of granted patents, and the inventions’ technical breadth.

GW Pharma and Pfizer are emerging players, the report added, whereas other companies such as Sanofi, Merck, Abbott, and AstraZeneca have been less active in filing over the past decade.

Clarivate said that 2012 was a “pivot point” in the timeline of global cannabis innovation, as Colorado and Washington voted to legalise cannabis for recreational use. Seven other states, and the District of Columbia, have since followed suit, and Canada has also recently legalised recreational use.

Global patenting activity in this area has increased year on year since 2012, with the main source of innovation coming from the US, the report said.

It said that half of cannabis inventions are from innovators based in the US, whereas just 8% come from Germany (in second place).

With 25% of cannabis patents filed in the US, America is the “most prominent market” for applicants, while the same percentage of filings has been made via the Patent Cooperation Treaty, followed by 16% in Europe and 11% in Canada.

The report added that half of cannabis inventions are from innovators based in the US, whereas just 8% come from Germany (in second place).

Clarivate is not the only organisation seeking to understand patenting trends in the cannabis industry.

Last month, analytics firm PatSnap released its “ Cannabis Compounds in Edibles and Beverages” report, which found that globally, 144 simple patent families relating to cannabinoid food and drink were filed in 2012, and 242 in 2015. In total, 3,357 simple patent families exist in relation to cannabis food and drink, and 103 in relation to cannabis-infused edibles.

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More on this story

Americas
21 August 2018   Medicinal cannabis company Asterion has granted PreveCeutical Medical a worldwide licence to manufacture and distribute three of its natural health products.
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18 January 2019   Canadian cannabis manufacturing company, Chemesis International, has signed an agreement with GSRX Industries, a Puerto-Rico based dispensary, to manufacture an edible cannabis product on the island.