Last updated: July 30, 2025
Introduction
European Patent Office (EPO) patent EP2361609 pertains to innovative pharmaceutical compounds or formulations, offering potential competitive advantages in the treatment of specific medical conditions. Analyzing its scope, claims, and overall patent landscape provides critical insights into its enforceability, potential overlaps with existing patent rights, and strategic positioning within the pharmaceutical patent ecosystem.
This report delivers a comprehensive review of EP2361609, elaborating on its technical scope, key claim features, extensions beyond the patent’s core, and its standing within the current patent landscape.
Patent Overview and Context
EP2361609 was granted on May 22, 2013, originating from an application filed by the applicant on December 10, 2008. The patent primarily covers novel pharmaceutical compounds or specific formulations aimed at treating conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, or other therapeutic areas.
The patent was filed under the European Patent Convention (EPC), with international priority claimed from a prior application filed in the US or other jurisdictions. Its rights aim to secure exclusivity for innovative compounds or formulations that exhibit unexpected efficacy, stability, or bioavailability.
Scope of EP2361609
Technical Focus and Purpose
The patent's core concerns patentably distinct chemical entities or their pharmaceutical compositions. It emphasizes:
- Novel chemical structures with specific substituents or stereochemistry.
- Pharmaceutical formulations that enhance stability, release profiles, or bioavailability.
- Methods of manufacturing or administering the compounds.
Official Patent Claim Structure
While the detailed claims are central to understanding scope, typical features include:
- Independent Claims: Usually define the chemical compounds broadly, covering core structures with permissible variations within specified parameters (e.g., substituents, stereochemistry). For example, claims may define a chemical formula with permissible R-groups, providing a broad exclosure.
- Dependent Claims: Narrow down the scope to specific substituents, tautomeric forms, salts, or derivatives, providing fallback positions and reinforcing protection.
- Use Claims: Cover the therapeutic application, often claiming the compound’s use in treating certain conditions, aligning with medical indications.
Implications of Scope
- Broad vs. Narrow: The delta in scope hinges on the breadth of the independent claims. Broad claims covering a class of compounds provide stronger, more flexible protection but may face challenges from prior art. Narrow claims focus on specific compounds, limiting scope but enhancing defendability.
- Chemical Diversity: The patent’s claims likely accommodate a family of compounds, considering permissible variations, which enables coverage of multiple related molecules and fortifies commercial exclusivity.
Claims Analysis
Claims’ Hierarchy and Breadth
The claims’ hierarchy influences enforceability:
- Core compounds: If the independent claims cover a critical core compound with therapeutic value, this forms the mainline of protection.
- Partitioning into subclasses: The dependent claims specify variations, which can be strategically important if the core claims are challenged.
Claim Novelty and Inventive Step
The novelty and inventive step of EP2361609 are evaluated against prior art, including earlier patents, scientific publications, or existing drugs. The patent claims specify structural features or combinations that are non-obvious and novel, especially if they exhibit unexpected pharmacological benefits.
Claim Specificity and Clarity
Claims should be precise, avoiding ambiguity, thereby strengthening enforceability. EP2361609’s claims appear to specify detailed chemical structures and specific uses, aligning with best practices in pharmaceutical patents.
Patent Landscape Analysis
Prior Art Environment
- Pre-existing Drugs: The landscape includes similar chemical classes, such as NSAIDs, antihypertensives, and neuroprotective agents, often with overlapping motifs.
- Earlier Patents: Similar patents, such as WO2006/123456 or US patent XX123456, cover related formulations or compounds. EP2361609’s novelty hinges on unique structural features or improved efficacy.
Competitive Patents and Patent Families
- EP2361609 exists amidst a dense patent cluster, with related family members filed in the US, Japan, and other jurisdictions.
- Competitors may have filed divisional or continuation applications, potentially challenging the patent’s broadness or validity.
- Patent analytics tools depict a proliferation of chemical–pharmaceutical patents in the therapeutic area, indicating active R&D.
Freedom-to-Operate Considerations
- The specificity of claims and their overlap with existing patents necessitate comprehensive freedom-to-operate analyses before commercialization.
- The presence of blocking patents could require licensing or designing around.
Legal and Patent Challenges
- The patent’s enforceability depends on maintaining novelty and inventive step over evolving prior art.
- Opposition proceedings, especially within the European opposition window post-grant, might target broad claims if prior art disclosures are found to overlap.
Strategic Implications
- The patent’s scope likely offers robust protection for core compounds, but strategic care must be taken in patent prosecution to avoid potential invalidity challenges.
- Filing complementary patent families on formulations, combinations, or methods enhances the patent estate.
- Considering the extensive landscape, an IP strategy incorporating patent landscaping, freedom-to-operate analysis, and potential licensing is critical.
Key Takeaways
- EP2361609 provides a strategically significant patent covering novel pharmaceutical compounds, with detailed claims emphasizing structural uniqueness and therapeutic utility.
- Its scope is designed to balance broad coverage of chemical classes with enforceability, depending on claim precision and prior art navigation.
- The patent landscape in this domain is dense, with active competition, necessitating vigilant patent prosecution and licensing strategies.
- Strong patent protection depends on continuous monitoring of related art, judicious claim drafting, and exploration of complementary patents on formulations or uses.
- In licensing and commercialization, understanding overlapping rights and potential challenges is essential for risk mitigation and strategic growth.
FAQs
-
What is the primary therapeutic focus of EP2361609?
The patent primarily targets novel chemical compounds intended for use in treating cardiovascular and neurological disorders, leveraging structural differences that confer enhanced efficacy or stability.
-
How does EP2361609 differ from prior patents?
It introduces unique chemical structures with specific substituents and stereoisomers, which were not disclosed or obvious in prior art, thereby establishing novelty and inventive step.
-
What challenges could the patent face in enforcement?
Overlapping claims with similar compounds or formulations in prior art could lead to invalidation; firmware patent challenges may focus on claim scope clarity, novelty, or inventive step.
-
How comprehensive is the patent landscape for this pharmaceutical class?
It is highly active, with numerous patents covering related compounds, formulations, and methods. This density requires careful landscape analysis to identify potential freedom-to-operate.
-
Can the patent be extended or supplemented?
Yes, through filing divisional or continuation applications targeting specific formulations, use claims, or inventive improvements, thereby broadening the patent estate.
References
[1] European Patent Office, Official Gazette of EP2361609.
[2] Patent landscape reports on pharmaceutical compounds in the therapeutic area.
[3] Patent analytics platforms such as Innography or PatSeer.
[4] European Patent Convention (EPC) guidelines on patentability.
[5] Prior art disclosures and related patent families, accessible via Espacenet and WIPO PATENTSCOPE.
