not-just-for-medicaments
Anton Balazh / Shutterstock.com
20 June 2014PharmaAndrew Wright and Tom Harding

Not just for medicaments: broadening horizons in Europe

A recent decision by the Board of Appeal (BoA) of the European Patent Office (EPO), T 2003/08, has changed the criteria for second medical use patent protection in Europe. Here we examine the implications for protection by second medical use claims, with a focus on areas that may not fit the traditional concept of a ‘medicament’.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Pharma
22 October 2026   Questions over what Boehringer’s patents actually proved dominated the final day of the hearing, but a push for a further finding raised the stakes, with a possible appeal threatening to keep Dr Reddy’s off the market even if it won.
Pharma
22 October 2026   Following a major US Supreme Court win for generics, the landmark dispute has finally come to an end. A new filing brings closure to a case that raised questions over skinny labelling and induced patent infringement.
Pharma
20 October 2026   In closing arguments last week, the drugmaker urged the UK Patents Court to reject an overly critical approach to plausibility and consider what its patents disclose when read as a whole rather than individually.