This article was originally published on IAM Media.
The Eurasian Patent Organisation (EAPO) launched its Pharmaceutical Register in March 2021, and it can be accessed on the EAPO's website in Russian and partially in English. However, those wishing to register need to be aware of the particular requirements before filing a request.
The register covers the member countries of the Eurasian Patent Convention (EAPC), which currently comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. It lists Eurasian patents relating to the active pharmaceutical ingredients of drugs, methods of their production and the uses thereof. 'Active ingredients' include, for example, chemical compounds and those described by a general structural formula, a so-called Markush structure, biotechnological products and compositions and combinations containing pharmacologically active ingredients.
The register includes the following information:
- drug names classified by their International Non-proprietary Names (INN);
- Eurasian patent numbers;
- numbers and filing dates of corresponding Eurasian applications;
- titles of inventions;
- the patentees' names, addresses and country codes;
- patent expiration dates;
- the status of Eurasian patents in each EAPO member state, as well as in Moldova;
- patent-term extensions, if granted;
- registered licences or sub-licences;
- information on issued local marketing authorisations (MA) and registration certificates; and
- links to EAPO web resources, containing more detailed information on the listed patents.
Requirements for listing a patent on the register
If patentees wish for their Eurasian patents to be included in the register, they can file a request, which should contain:
- a Eurasian patent number;
- INNs in Russian and English;
- a list of claims covering an active pharmaceutical ingredient (ie, independent claims); and
- information regarding the person submitting the request, as well as an address.
Eurasian patents cannot be included in the register based on method-of-treatment claims.
A request should be supplemented with additional documents in support of a claimed pharmaceutical ingredient having the INN indicated, as well as MA extracts and labels (if any) from the drug registers of the contracting member state(s).
After verifying that the respective patents cover the drug, the EAPO will then add them to the register. It is possible to make amendments upon request.
Patents that have been invalidated are removed from the register. The current procedure also allows for the third-party removal of patents due to an inconsistency between the claimed invention and the indicated INN. However, patentees can file such requests themselves, if needed.