Back to All Collaborations

Pat-INFORMED – The Gateway to Medicine Patent Information

Active Since: 2018

Multi-Company Partnership

Contributing to SDGs…

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.

WIPO and IFPMA have launched an online tool designed to help procurement agencies better understand the global patent status of medicines.

MEMBER COMPANIES

PARTNER ORGANISATIONS

  • Intergovernmental Organizations and Multilaterals

    World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

    Contribution

    WIPO is hosting the database and providing the resources to ensure its continued development, while IFPMA is working closely with the 20 leading research-based biopharmaceutical companies that have backed this initiative to help ensure a consistent and coordinated approach

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.

Quote
As a public-private partnership focusing on access to key patent information, Pat-INFORMED will facilitate the procurement of important medicines and thereby support better health outcomes for people across the globe. Such partnerships are critical to success in the field of public health.
Francis Gurry
WIPO Director General

SDGs THE PARTNERSHIP CONTRIBUTES TO

SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing

  1. 3.1: Reduce Maternal Mortality
  2. 3.2: Reduce Under-5 Mortality 
  3. 3.4: NCDs (including mental health)
  4. 3.7: Access to sexual and reproductive health-care services 
  5. 3.C: Health workforce

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals 

RESULTS & MILESTONES

So far, Pat-INFORMED houses information on over 14,000 individual patents, for 600 patent families and 169 INNs, unique names that are globally recognized and used to identify pharmaceutical substances or active pharmaceutical ingredients within medicines that cover a wide range of conditions.

It is estimated that Pat-INFORMED has the potential to help procurement experts reduce by 30% the time required to procure medicines for LMICs.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Geographic Reach

Global Commitment

Disease Area

Non-communicable Diseases

  • Mental & Neurological Disorders

Women’s and Child Health