Global research on artemisinin and its derivatives: Perspectives from patents

BACKGROUND: The isolation of artemisinin in 1971 heralded the beginning of a new era in antimalarial drug therapy, and artemisinin-based combination therapies are currently the mainstay of malaria treatment worldwide. Artemisinin-related studies have been extensively and intensively executed in the last few decades. However, although many purely technological reviews have been completed in this field, studies on artemisinin from the perspective of patents are still very limited. In terms of the importance of patents for academic research and commercial development, this study aims to reveal the overall patent landscape of artemisinin in the temporal, spatial, and technological dimensions. This work may provide a useful reference for relevant decision-making by researchers, investors, and policymakers. METHODS: All available patent data relevant to artemisinin derivatives and artemisinin-based drug combinations developed for use in various therapeutic areas were collected from the Derwent Innovation database. Descriptive statistics and citation analyses were used to analyze the patent landscape. RESULTS: A total of 4594 patent documents and 1450 simple patent families from 1986 to 2019 were analyzed. A comprehensive patent landscape of artemisinin is presented from the aspects of time trends, filing countries, patent ownership, co-patents, technological categories, therapeutic areas, and citation networks and pathways. CONCLUSIONS: China and the United States are mainly responsible for the dramatic increase of artemisinin patents over the last three decades. From the point of view of patents, notable technological issues on artemisinin are chemical and biological synthesis, novel combinations, new formulations and administration routes, drug repositioning, and minimizing the resistance. Furthermore, a critical challenge lies in how to stimulate the industry to develop artemisinin-related drugs by government regulation and public-private partnership.