Articles

Late-stage functionalisation has emerged as a valuable enabling tool within the arsenal of a medicinal chemist. As newer synthetic methods become developed for the generation of small molecules, so too has the chemical space that medicinal chemists will have access to. Of course, these methods are valuable to the R&D team – but did you know that late-stage functionalisation will also likely have an impact on the IP profession?

So-called second medical use claims are a type of patent claim in the field of medicine. These claims are typically used to protect the use of a known substance or compound for a new and specific medical purpose. 

One morning during my undergraduate chemistry course I arrived at the organic chemistry teaching laboratory to be informed that today we would be synthesising N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide, more commonly known as DEET, which is the most widely used active ingredient in commercial insect repellents. At the time, the significance of what I was making (or trying to make!) was lost on me.

Welcome to Marks & Clerk’s new series of articles regarding the nature and role of data in the patent system. This current article is intended to serve as an introduction to the series, explaining why data is important, and to give a taster as to what readers may expect from future articles.

Did you know that the word orangutan derives from the Malay language where “orang hutan” literally means “man of the forest”? You might wonder how this links to biofuel and to exciting Cambridge start-up HutanBio. But the word “hutan” is used in the same way in HutanBio’s company name, a reference to their use of algal “forests” to make biofuel.

Last year, our colleague Peter Youle wrote about the pitfalls of parameters in patent claims. Whilst small molecules are typically claimed using structural features and formulae, these are usually unsuitable for defining a polymer.  Instead, parameters, such as the weight average molecular weight (Mw), are frequently used to characterise polymers.

How do you tell the scientific story of Cambridge? It seems that the first resort for many, including the city’s famous punt guides, is to look to the impressive Nobel Prize tally of Cambridge scientists and alumni.

As we reported in early 2022, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the EPO are considering two pending referrals (G1/22 and G2/22) regarding the question of entitlement to priority. A hearing has now been set for 26 May 2023, and the Enlarged Board have now issued a preliminary opinion setting out the points to be discussed.

When you hear Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), you think Illumina Inc. However, the heart of Illumina’s nucleic acid sequencing technologies is sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS), a chemistry technology with a humble and fascinating backstory set in a Cambridge pub.