title: Research and Development of Hepatitis B Drugs: An Analysis Based on Technology Flows Measured by Patent Citations.
abstract: Despite the existence of available therapies, the Hepatitis B virus infection continues to be one of the most serious threats to human health, especially in developing countries such as China and India. To shed light on the improvement of current therapies and development of novel anti-HBV drugs, we thoroughly investigated 212 US patents of anti-HBV drugs and analyzed the technology flow in research and development of anti-HBV drugs based on data from IMS LifeCycle databases. Moreover, utilizing the patent citation method, which is an effective indicator of technology flow, we constructed patent citation network models and performed network analysis in order to reveal the features of different technology clusters. As a result, we identified the stagnant status of anti-HBV drug development and pointed the way for development of domestic pharmaceuticals in developing countries. We also discussed about therapeutic vaccines as the potential next generation therapy for HBV infection. Lastly, we depicted the cooperation between entities and found that novel forms of cooperation added diversity to the conventional form of cooperation within the pharmaceutical industry. In summary, our study provides inspiring insights for investors, policy makers, researchers, and other readers interested in anti-HBV drug development.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR, 999078, China.
authors.forename: Chuoji
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR, 999078, China.
authors.forename: Hui Heng
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR, 999078, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Bo
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR, 999078, China.
authors.forename: Chengwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR, 999078, China.
authors.forename: Yuanjia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003906:Developing Countries; D055808:Drug Discovery; D004345:Drug Industry; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D010330:Patents as Topic; D012106:Research
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents