title: Analysis of patents on anti-rheumatoid arthritis therapies issued in China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The etiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is complex and diverse. Chronic inflammatory processes with joint dysfunction can cause permanent disability. Therefore, the development of new drugs and therapies for RA is very important.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review analyzes the existing patents on anti-RA products in China to help pharmaceutical companies and individuals patent potential candidate drugs for RA treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three hundred and seventeen patents were analyzed, including 172 patents for Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs, 54.2%), 65 for synthetic compounds (20.5%), 55 for biological products (17.4%) and 25 patents for the drug preparation process (7.9%). Among the TCM patents, 73.8% were of various preparations for different Chinese medicines, 23.8% were of herbal extracts and 2.3% were of herbal extract derivatives. Synthetic compounds were involved in more than 30 targets, some small-molecule drugs that target signaling kinases such as p38 MAPK, Janus kinase may become important directions in the management of RA. Biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) are the most efficacious drugs for RA treatment. As the classic therapeutic target in RA, TNF-α has the largest number of bDMARD patents. In addition, it is expected that new targets such as high-mobility group protein B1, thioredoxin domain-containing protein 5 (TXNDC5) and B lymphocyte stimulator (BlyS) will play a significant role in RA as potential targets for new treatments. The largest number of all the published patent applications are claiming TCMs, which may provide substantial new information for anti-RA drug development. The largest number of all the published patent applications are claiming TCMs, which may provide huge information for anti-RA drug development.
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: Xiao-Lan
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xue-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Ji-Fu
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002681:China; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D010330:Patents as Topic
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents
keywords: Chinese patent; biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; rheumatoid arthritis; traditional Chinese medicine