Patent analysis for calcium phosphate bone cements / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Calcium phosphate bone cement exhibits great commercial potential as bone filling materials in the field of clinical biomedical engineering; however, due to some existing technical and theoretical challenges, its wide spread application is hindered. It is therefore necessary to search existing patents to explore various potential improvements in modification of calcium phosphate bone cement. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the patent information of calcium phosphate bone cement for better understanding of the development of the calcium phosphate bone cement technology, and for early warning of patent infringement.METHODS: Based on the manual screening of Incopat patent database, we analyzed 2 711 patent documents from four aspects — the application trend, patent layout, competitor analysis, and efficacy matrix. In combination with technology development and industrialization, this paper also shows some important Chinese patents selectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The United States is in the leading position in the calcium phosphate bone cement field, while this technology is developing rapidly in China. Various components and methods are developed for modifying calcium phosphate bone cement, which are the focus of patent development and layout. Although some of the fundamental patents have expired, patent infringement risks need to be tested and mitigated for the development and industrialization by Chinese enterprises as there are some important patents in China arranged by foreign companies. At the same time, Chinese patent holders need to master international patent layout and develop their intellectual properties for the future international marketplace.