The world today is a much better and healthier place than it was 50 years ago. Over the last decade alone, there have been dramatic improvements in treatments that have transformed the lives of patients. These include new treatments for HIV, hepatitis C, oncology and many other diseases. Patents, as an important tool that supports the innovation process, have made these achievements possible.

While information about patent applications and grants reside in the public domain, resources that directly link patents to medicines already on the market are scarce and limited. Tools that directly link granted patents to medicines are only available publicly in certain countries (e.g. the USA’s ‘Orange Book’) or through private third-party databases.

Pat-INFORMED, a private-public partnership between the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the specialized UN agency, and the research-based pharmaceutical industry, is a practical step in helping to reduce the complexity surrounding patent information and make it easier for procurement experts to search the patent status of medicines.

It is a unique resource where patent holders provide information about patents covering approved medicines through a free, open access database. It features patent information for small molecule drugs within oncology; hepatitis C, cardiovascular, HIV, diabetes, and respiratory therapy areas; and any products on the WHO EML that are not within these therapy areas. In a second phase, the initiative will extend to all therapeutic areas and explore the inclusion of complex therapeutics.