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In recent decades, enzymes have been the target of considerable research, development, and innovation. This paper presents an up-to-date overview of the technological application of lipases in the pharmaceutical industry. Lipases have been used in a variety of ways in the pharmaceutical industry, both for obtaining bioactive molecules to overcome limitations in the formulation of medicines and in drug design. This is possible from alternative technologies, such as immobilization and the use of non-aqueous solvents that allow the use of lipases in commercial-scale processes. In addition, other technologies have provided the emergence of differentiated and more specific lipases in order to meet the perspectives of industrial processes. The research indicates that the following years should be promising for the application of lipase in the industrial biocatalysis and in drug design.

This chapter provides an overview, from bioeconomic and global sustainability perspectives, of the main constraints to the current global vaccine innovation system for achieving Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs. Biotechnology market trends, gaps in vaccine coverage against emerging and neglected diseases, and patent protection and regulation are discussed. A structured long-term “public-return-driven” innovation model to overcome vaccine market failure is proposed.

The more than 100 million patents registered in the European Patent Office provide an unprecedented source of scientific and technological information in the history of mankind. The technological management of this information is exploited to develop technological advances in scientific, technological, and educational organizations and companies. New standards of product and process safety and effectiveness have been introduced across the world, and public and private business strategies are under constant review to comply with the prevailing paradigm. The health sector releases more than 1 million papers a year on scientific progress, while technological (patents) advance 10% per year. Therefore, updating the contribution of the information science through scientific and technological knowledge in intellectual property, a case study, will provide a contribution to reflection for the business in research, development, and innovation in health. These facts lead to constant adjustments of business in companies, universities, and government actions. In 2017, three lists of strategic products for the Brazilian Health System were changed. Using new intelligence systems, the government has adopted new strategic partnerships with the private sector, and were conceived in 2017 (others replaced) with budgets of more than US$ 2 billion. This chapter explores the contribution of information science through scientific and technological knowledge in intellectual property.

Emerging and resurgent arboviral diseases are a major public health problem for developing countries, particularly in Latin America and Africa, for the severity of their symptoms and lethality. Vaccines are recognized as the most powerful preventive, low-risk and cost-effective interventions. For this reason, vaccines against these arboviral diseases could have an extensive impact on global health. Nevertheless, many gaps persist in innovation and technological development of these vaccines and it is necessary and urgent to accelerate new funding mechanisms and incentives, such as “patent pools”, with active participation of manufacturers in developing countries, to assure their cost-effectiveness, efficacy and minimize their potential adverse effects. In this global scenario, intellectual property, especially patents documents, have emerged as a crucial issue for vaccine development. The global patent landscape for vaccines against these four arboviral diseases has undergone drastic changes in the past 5 years, with breakthroughs resulting from advances in molecular biology and genetic engineering: DNA vaccines, recombinant vaccines based on antigens expressed in vectors (viral, bacterial, yeast) and vaccines obtained through reverse vaccinology, with the selection of potential candidates at the genetic level rather than the protein level. Our main aim is to transcend the conventional debate on vaccine development and ethical, regulatory and policy issues, already explored in many scientific publications in the past three decades and determine which of these issues should be considered new and specific to this new perspective. Finally, an adequate use of patent documents, as indicated here, can be a valuable source of information, supporting technological prospect tools in more effective knowledge governance strategies.

Arterial hypertension affects over one billion people around the world, making the prevention and treatment of this disease vital. Despite the efforts made to develop new antihypertensive drugs, few new therapies have become available. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have heralded major steps forward in the treatment of arterial hypertension and cardiovascular diseases since the first compound of this class, captopril, was approved for clinical use in 1981. Areas covered: In this review, the authors investigated the patent documents that cite the priority patent for captopril, Squibb's first blockbuster, or any other patent from its patent family. The documents were classified into the following: new compounds, new compositions, treatment, process (preparation of a compound), use of a compound, and process for the preparation of an intermediate. Therefore, the readers can identify potential innovations in the field. Expert opinion: The pharmaceutical sector has attempted to provide significant technological developments on anti-hypertensive drugs based on the patenting of captopril, including the development of new compositions further comprising an ACE inhibitor and other antihypertensive agent, along with dual action compounds, novel molecules with dual activity. The target is to find a new agent with better blood pressure-lowering efficacy, improved safety and good tolerability profile.

Partnerships, technology transfer and targeted policies are needed to accelerate Brazil's participation in global vaccine research and development.

Recently, research in the field of cancer nanotechnology has made notable progress, and, with the fast development of nanomaterials, new treatment strategies using nanoparticles are being explored that have the potential to overcome existing problems. The present review focuses on patenting as a key indicator of trends in nanoparticles with applications in the treatment of cancer. The impact of cancer on health and the use of nanoparticles are briefly described. Next, a survey of patents filed in the last 14 years is presented, the patents granted in the last four years are identified, and the focus areas of the main applicants are analyzed. The mix of targets identified for patented nanoparticles systems suggests that polymers and proteins are the main focus of the innovative efforts in this field.

Lab-on-chip are miniaturized devices capable of performing a variety of chemical, biochemical or biological analyzes of small volumes of fluids into a single chip. This is an emerging technology that holds potential to deliver more reliable and faster results at a lower cost than traditional laboratory methods. The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the products and processes related to lab-on-a-chip based on patent documents. We use patents data from Thomson Reuters Derwent Innovations Index and combine bibliometrics and social network analysis techniques. We found 2984 patents related to lab-on-a-chip technology, of which only 221 claims for a new lab-on-a-chip device. Considering the total of patents, our results show a significant increase in patenting from 2000 to 2008. As of 2006, the interest in patenting in several countries has risen. USA and Japan are the two most frequent countries developing related technologies, and the USA and the European Patent Office are the top target of patenting by non-residents. Overall, one can see a wide dispersion of organizations involved in researching and developing this technology. Technological developments are most frequently associated with the areas of physics, performing operations and chemistry. Most of the documents are aimed to protect inventions related to instruments for measuring and testing, and processes or apparatus for separation or mixing. By providing a lab-on-a-chip patent landscape worldwide, our findings can be used to support R&D decisions and foster new partnerships between organizations willing to develop the capabilities needed to enter this market.

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and is estimated to be the cause of 13.1 million deaths in 2030. Breast cancer is the second cancer in the global mortality ranking, considering both sexes. Due to the burden of breast cancer worldwide, this paper aims to present an overview of the main R&D efforts focusing on breast cancer treatment. Patents were retrieved from the Derwent Innovations Index?, which has a specific code for pharmaceuticals related to breast cancer. A total of 423 patent documents filed in recent years were identified, of which 126 are exclusively for breast cancer, 169 for breast cancer and other cancers, and 128 are inventions related to the treatment of cancer and other diseases. The patent documents were classified into two large groups, the first of which had a predominance of claims for antibodies, proteins and polypeptides for use in medication production, while the second focuses on gene therapy, nucleotides and RNA. The country with the majority of priority patent applications was found to be the United States, followed by China and Japan.

The aim of the article is to present a method for identifying trends in patent applications for nanotechnology applied to the health sector around the world, based on the International Patent Classification. This classification divides the sector into: dental care, drugs, diagnostic kits, and medical apparatus & medical care. The Derwent database was mined for patent documents using nanotechnology terms associated with the IPC subclasses from the health subsectors. The number of patents was found to be rising, led by the United States, particularly universities and R centers. In the dental care subsector, nanotechnology was found to be used in composite material for manufacturing dental appliances. In drugs, the focus is on the use of nanoparticulate compositions comprising agents that are useful for a variety of diseases. In diagnostic kits, nanostructures have been patented that are capable of detecting target analytes. Meanwhile, in medical apparatus & medical care, patent applications have been made for nanocapsules and/or nanocomposite materials inserted in devices and guide catheters. A study was also made of patents in Brazil, where the same assignees and the same country (United States) as in the survey of global patents were found to be the leading patent applicants / holders.