title: Analysis of patents on anti-gout therapies issued in China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of gout and hyperuricemia has been increasing. The demand for new anti-gout therapies today presents exciting opportunities to organizations and individuals offering such products.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review analyzes the patents of anti-gout products to help pharmaceutical companies and individuals in the patenting of potential candidate drugs for gout treatment in China.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this review, 786 patents were found, among which, 215 are in the protection period. The latter group of patents includes 183 patents for traditional Chinese medicines (TCM, 85%), 30 for synthetic compounds (14%) and 2 for combinations of synthetic compounds and TCM (CST). Among the TCM patents, 84% contain various dosage formulae for different Chinese medicines, 13% are herbal extracts and only 7 patents are from herbal extract derivatives. Synthetic compound patents mainly target xanthine oxidase, urate transporter 1 and uric acid oxidase. Searching for new targets and drugs acting on multiple targets should provide a new stimulus in the field of synthetic compound patents. CST has the smallest proportion of Chinese anti-gout patents, although it is still in the test stage and has not been widely accepted, but has provided a new direction for the field of anti-gout patents.
authors.affiliation: Nanjing Medical University, The First Affiliated Hospital, Research Division of Clinical Pharmacology , Nanjing , China.
authors.forename: Hong-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Xue-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiao-Lan
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ji-Fu
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meng
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006073:Gout / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D010330:Patents as Topic; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase