Sector is responsible for 12% of the 4 patents in force in Unicamp's portfolio
With a vast portfolio of patents, Unicamp has technologies in practically all existing technological domains and, for the second consecutive year, Pharmaceuticals takes the lead among the patent families of which the University holds title.
According to the Intellectual Property department of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, in total, there are 979 protected technologies in force – technically known as: patent families –, which break down into 1.121 patents in force in the University's portfolio, including deposits in Brazil, via PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty, in Portuguese) and abroad.
Of the families, 122 are in the pharmaceutical domain (12,4%), 100 in measurement (10,2%), and 88 in chemical engineering (8,98%). They occupy, respectively, first, second and third place in the ranking of technological domains at Unicamp.
The prominence of the Pharmaceutical sector, in the opinion of the director of Intellectual Property at the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, Patrícia Leal Gestic, does not mean that Unicamp has more expertise in this area. The greater productivity of teachers and researchers in this field of study, says Patrícia, is related to the fact that these professionals have more knowledge of patent procedures, given the aggressiveness of the sector and the permanent search for innovations.
“Unicamp has high productivity in several areas. The point is that the pharmaceutical sector, traditionally, receives huge investments in research, has fierce competition between players, and the Intellectual Property strategy is essential both to protect itself and to stay ahead. This is a widespread and clear vision for the market and also for academia”, says Patrícia.
According to Sindusfarma, an association of the pharmaceutical industrial sector in the State of São Paulo, the Brazilian medicines market generated R$ 54,73 billion between August 2016 and August 2017 – the value represents a growth of 12,58% in compared to the same period of the previous year. As a result, the Brazilian market is equivalent to 2,4% of the world market, with the country being 8th in revenue in the ranking of the twenty main economies.
SECTOR DEMANDS
In the assessment of professor Carlos Roque Duarte Correia, from the Chemistry Institute (IQ) at Unicamp, the prominence of the Pharmaceutical sector is also related to the opportunities for innovation that the area offers. “The Brazilian pharmaceutical sector is still not very competitive in international terms. There are great demands on almost everything related to public health. In particular, there is a huge demand for medicines and pharmaceuticals for our endemic diseases. This certainly attracts the attention of researchers who want to be at the frontier of knowledge”, says the professor.
“The Pharmaceutical sector constantly demands new developments, including new formulations and more efficient active ingredients. Therefore, it is very important that the researcher, when developing a new technology, takes steps to patent it, so that this invention has a chance of becoming a product that brings benefits to the health sector and also a financial return. to the University itself, after its licensing”, warns the professor at the Chemistry Institute, Marcelo Ganzarolli de Oliveira, who had one of his patents in the Pharmaceutical area granted last year.
This is a technology focused on polymeric formulations that serve as a vehicle for the localized release of nitric oxide into the skin or lesions. This technology can be offered in the form of hydrogels and ointments. After topical application, nitric oxide passes through the skin and increases blood circulation at the application site. This is a difference, especially in the treatment of ischemic diseases. The formulation also has the potential to promote wound healing and combat bacterial infections, without developing resistance, as occurs with antibiotics.
“This is a solution that meets a clear market demand. This motivates us. It is gratifying to be able to contribute to technologies that bring benefits to the healthcare sector”, reinforces Ganzarolli. The technology is currently available for licensing.
UNION OF FORCES
As demonstrated in the previous example, anyone who thinks that technologies in the pharmaceutical technological domain come exclusively from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Unicamp are mistaken.
In fact, this technological domain includes – including the majority of participation – patents coming from CPQBA (Multidisciplinary Center for Chemical, Biological and Agricultural Research), the Faculty of Medical Sciences, the Institute of Biology, among others.
Some of these technologies also have another peculiarity among the patents in this technological domain: interdisciplinarity. There are several examples that exist today in Unicamp's patent portfolio of technologies that were developed in partnership between researchers and professors from different units at the University.
“This is a trend. Highly technological products involve many areas of knowledge so that they can be effectively robust. This is the result of great ideas and a collision of knowledge”, says the director of Intellectual Property at Inova Unicamp, Patrícia Leal Gestic.
This is what reinforces Professor Carlos Roque Duarte Correia, from the Unicamp Chemistry Institute, responsible for two technologies in the Pharmaceutical area granted last year. “The vast majority of impact research has demonstrated the enormous relevance of interdisciplinarity. This is due to the increasing complexity in the development of cutting-edge research, in which we find situations that require the experience of professionals in other areas. The creation of interdisciplinary research groups is a positive trend nowadays”, he assesses.
It was in this context that Professor Marcelo Lancellotti, from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Unicamp, developed the anti-zika vaccine, whose patent was filed last year.
Working together with the Zika Network – created with the aim of creating a scientific and operational plan to combat the virus –, the professor developed this technology, which does not require the use of recombinant DNA techniques, and uses nanotechnology as the main focus to combat the Zika virus. The technology has proven effective in tests in vivo.
“This network is a great example of multidisciplinary work, involving at least four institutes and 32 research groups at Unicamp”, recalls Lancellotti, highlighting the know-how and Unicamp's contribution to the application of knowledge in the technological aspect.
“The researcher alone will not be able to maintain all technological test lines in the same laboratory. Science is not done alone, at least quality science. Today, the trend is scientific and technological research moving together and collaborating. Protecting technology is not just about protecting your right to it. You need to look ahead, at the market. This is an inevitable path. Scientific production also needs to provide benefits for society”, concludes Lancellotti.