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Patentability of antibodies for therapeutic use in Europe

Nature Biotechnology volume 36, pages 402–405 (2018)Cite this article

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General guidelines are presented on the types of patent protection available for inventions arising from research in the field of monoclonal antibodies, using concepts drawn from European case law and expert practice.

Although antibodies and the substances derived from them have been patented for decades, new antibody-based inventions are of great interest owing to their potential applications in the fields of immunotherapy and diagnostics. Obtaining patent protection for these inventions is therefore an inevitable—but by no means routine—step for all researchers in the sector, and a considerable challenge for the patent experts involved. Here we provide some general guidelines on the types of patent protection available in the immunology field. We discuss the legal provisions and relevant case law, along with examples of their concrete application by sector experts in everyday practice, with particular focus on the specific circumstances surrounding the patenting of antibodies, especially monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) destined for therapeutic use.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Claudio Germinario is at Società Italiana Brevetti, Rome, Italy.,

    Claudio Germinario

  2. Patrizia Rampinelli and Maurizio Cini are in the Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Sara Bertoli, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,

    Sara Bertoli, Patrizia Rampinelli & Maurizio Cini

Authors
  1. Claudio Germinario
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  2. Sara Bertoli
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  3. Patrizia Rampinelli
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  4. Maurizio Cini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrizia Rampinelli.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Germinario, C., Bertoli, S., Rampinelli, P. et al. Patentability of antibodies for therapeutic use in Europe. Nat Biotechnol 36, 402–405 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4134

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