Analysis of patenting trends of antifungal drugs in the product patent regime in India

The present study attempts to analyze the patenting activity of antifungal drugs in the pre and post TRIPS period in India. There is a general increase in patent filing in antifungals both by Indian as well as by multinational companies, with greater filing by the latter in the post-TRIPS era. The major filings in the transition and post-TRIPS period have been due to increased product than process patent filings, wherein 75% of the total patent applications in this sector is directed towards product patents and remaining 25% is directed towards process patents. It is observed that Indian academic institutions have been more active than foreign institutions with respect to patent filings in this field.