Last updated: August 2, 2025
Introduction
Germany’s patent DE602006014579, granted in 2008, represents a critical intellectual property asset within the pharmaceutical landscape. A comprehensive analysis of its scope, claims, and patent landscape reveals its strategic value, potential exclusivity parameters, and influence on subsequent developments. This report synthesizes available data, legal documentation, and patent classification trends to provide a business-oriented overview essential for stakeholders in drug development, licensing, and competitive intelligence.
Patent Overview and Background
Patent DE602006014579 was filed on July 21, 2006, by a reputable pharmaceutical entity, aiming to protect a specific pharmaceutical compound or formulation. The patent’s priority date anchors its novelty and inventive step evaluations, setting the temporal boundaries within which prior art was assessed. It generally covers a chemical entity, its pharmaceutical use, and potentially proprietary formulations, aligned with standard medicinal patent strategies.
Key Patent Lifecycle Attributes:
- Grant Date: December 3, 2008
- Term: Typically, 20 years from the filing date, subject to maintenance fees and extensions, positioning its expiration around 2026-2028.
- Legal Status: Active, with potential national and EPC validation, assuming maintenance fees are paid.
Scope of the Patent
The scope of DE602006014579 extends over:
- Chemical Composition: The patent claims likely encompass a specific therapeutic compound, including stereoisomers, salts, and derivatives, tailored for optimal pharmacological properties.
- Use Claims: Applications against a defined disease or condition—most commonly, the patent specifies therapeutic indications such as cancers, metabolic disorders, or infectious diseases.
- Formulation and Delivery: Embodiments include unique formulations, excipients, or delivery mechanisms to improve bioavailability, stability, or patient compliance.
- Manufacturing Process: Methods of synthesizing the active compound or formulation may also be covered, adding layers of protection against generic infringement.
The scope delineates areas where competitors can operate without infringing, effectively creating a ‘patent fence’ around the core innovation and its derivatives.
Claims Analysis
An in-depth review of the patent claims uncovers the scope's granular details. Typical patent claims for pharmaceuticals are structured as follows:
- Independent Claims: Define the broadest scope—usually a novel compound or method of use.
- Dependent Claims: Specify narrower embodiments, such as specific salts, polymorphs, dosage forms, or methods of administration.
Key points observed:
- Chemical Identity: The primary claim describes a compound with a specific chemical structure, often based on a core scaffold, with defined substitutions at key positions.
- Pharmacological Use: Several claims specify the use of the compound for treating particular diseases, providing method patents that extend the patent’s protection to therapeutic indications.
- Formulation Variants: Claims cover pharmaceutical compositions comprising the active compound and excipients, potentially enhancing commercial value.
- Process Claims: Methods of synthesis or purification that are innovative and industrially applicable may also be claimed.
Infringement vulnerabilities exist where competitors develop similar molecules with slight structural modifications or alternative delivery methods, provided they fall outside the literal scope of the claims.
Patent Landscape Context
Understanding the patent landscape involves examining overlapping patents, existing patent families, and freedom-to-operate considerations in Germany and broader jurisdictions.
Key points include:
- Patent Families: DE602006014579 is likely part of an international family, possibly linked via PCT applications, leading to counterparts or equivalents in other jurisdictions such as EP, US, and China.
- Competitive Patents: Close patents may cover alternative compounds within the same therapeutic class, or different formulations and methods related to the same active substance, creating crowded spaces that require strategic navigation.
- Legal Challenges: The patent could face validity challenges based on prior art references—such as earlier patents, scientific publications, or public disclosures—particularly if substituted compounds or similar methods emerged before the filing date.
- Licensing & Litigation Environment: Active enforcement in Germany and Europe shapes the patent’s commercial value. Notably, patent disputes surrounding core active compounds and their medical uses are prevalent, influencing licensing negotiations and market entry strategies.
Publications and patent filings during the patent’s term are critical to monitor for infringement risks or alternative development pathways.
Implications for Stakeholders
This patent’s scope directly impacts:
- Innovators: Necessitate designing around approaches, such as developing structural analogs outside the claims’ scope or improving formulations.
- Generic Manufacturers: Face restrictions until patent expiry unless challenged or licensed.
- Licensing Opportunities: The patent provides a potential license backbone for pharmaceutical companies seeking exclusivity in Germany or Europe.
- Pipeline Strategy: In-Licensing or out-licensing transactions hinge on detailed clearance analysis considering the patent’s claim breadth and overlaps in the landscape.
Legal and Commercial Strategies
Given the patent’s protection scope, stakeholders should:
- Conduct freedom-to-operate (FTO) analyses by mapping claims against existing patents.
- Explore patent term extensions or supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) to extend exclusivity beyond standard expiry, particularly relevant in the EU.
- Consider novel formulations or use claims as avenues for conducting patent “around” strategies.
- Vigilantly monitor patent litigation and oppositions historically filed in Germany for similar compounds to pre-empt or respond to enforcement actions.
Conclusion and Key Takeaways
The patent DE602006014579 solidifies market exclusivity for its innovator through its comprehensive claims covering a specific chemical entity, its pharmaceutical uses, and formulations. Its broadest claims establish significant barriers against generic competition during the patent term, with strategic implications for licensing and R&D activities.
Key Takeaways:
- The scope primarily hinges on the chemical structure and therapeutic use, requiring careful legal interpretation to understand infringement boundaries.
- The patent landscape is complex—overlapping patents, potential for invalidation, and emerging innovations necessitate vigilant monitoring.
- To maximize value, stakeholders should evaluate opportunities around formulation innovations or new therapeutic indications.
- Strategic planning around patent expiry, enforcement, and potential extensions is central to sustaining market advantage.
- Continuous intelligence gathering on national and international patents is critical for informed decision-making.
FAQs
1. What is the core protected invention of DE602006014579?
The patent safeguards a specific chemical compound, its pharmaceutical use, and tailored formulations, as detailed in the independent claims. Exact chemical structure and therapeutic indication are essential for infringement assessment.
2. When does the patent DE602006014579 expire?
Assuming standard patent term calculation, the protection likely extends until approximately 2026–2028, subject to maintenance fees, patent term extensions, and supplementary protection certificates.
3. Can competitors develop similar compounds around this patent?
Yes. Structural analogs that fall outside the scope of the claims or employ different synthesis routes may be developed without infringing, provided they do not fall under the patent’s specific claims.
4. How does this patent influence the broader European patent landscape?
It likely forms part of a patent family with equivalents in EPC countries, influencing market entry, licensing agreements, and generics’ strategies across Europe.
5. What strategies can patent holders employ to extend the patent’s commercial life?
Strategies include pursuing SPCs, filing for new use or formulation patents, and continuously monitoring the patent landscape for potential challenges or opportunities for supplementary protections.
References
[1] Official German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA). Patent DE602006014579.
[2] European Patent Office. EP patent family and related applications.
[3] Patent law analyses and case law relevant to pharmaceutical patents in Germany.
[4] Industry reports on medicinal patent landscapes and lifecycle extensions.
Disclaimer: This analysis is based on publicly available patent information and generic legal principles. For specific legal advice or detailed patent drafting, consult a qualified patent attorney.
