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patent-landscape-tools

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Drug-patent landscape workflow guide for searching US patents via the PatentsView API, classifying pharmaceutical claim types (NCE, formulation, method-of-use, polymorph, combination, biologic, process), grouping by patent family and assignee, estimating expiry timelines, and cross-referencing the FDA Orange Book for marketed-drug exclusivity windows. Use when the user asks about patent coverage, IP white-space, patent cliffs, or competitive filing activity around a drug, target, or compound class without asking for legal counsel.

QUICK START

How to use this skill

Bring this guide into your coding agent with a prompt tailored to the tool you use.

  1. Open your project in Codex.
  2. Copy the prompt below and paste it into your agent.
  3. Review the proposed files and risks before you approve installation.
Prompt to paste
I want to install this Agent Skill for this project in Codex.

Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/DrugClaw/DrugClaw/blob/HEAD/skills/science/patent(US)-landscape-tools/SKILL.md

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First, summarize what it does, its dependencies, license status if identifiable, and any risks. Show the exact files you propose to add under .agents/skills/patent-landscape-tools/. Do not write files or run scripts until I approve.

After I approve, install the complete skill folder, including required referenced files, into that project location. Verify it is discoverable, then tell me its actual invocation name and how to use it. Do not claim it is installed until you have verified it.

Copying this prompt does not install or run the skill. Review third-party files before use. Codex skill guide

Patent Landscape Tools

Use this skill for research-grade patent intelligence around drugs, targets, or mechanisms, not legal freedom-to-operate opinions.

Typical triggers:

  • search US patents related to a drug compound, target, or mechanism of action
  • classify pharmaceutical patents by claim type: NCE, formulation, method-of-use, polymorph, biologic, process
  • build a landscape summary showing filing trends, top assignees, and claim-type distribution
  • estimate patent expiry windows for one or more patent families
  • cross-reference the FDA Orange Book for a marketed drug's listed patents and exclusivity codes
  • identify IP white-space or under-patented mechanism classes before a new filing strategy

Working Rules

  1. Always apply a pharmaceutical CPC filter (A61K, A61P, or C07) to avoid non-drug noise.
  2. Distinguish granted patents from applications; PatentsView covers grants only.
  3. Report the data source, query date, and coverage limitation (US-only) in every output.
  4. Claim-type classification is heuristic from title and abstract keywords, not from reading claims.
  5. Expiry is estimated as filing date + 20 years; PTE, PTA, SPC, and terminal disclaimers are not computed.
  6. Do not present any output as freedom-to-operate analysis, legal advice, or infringement opinion.

Environment Check

which python3 || true
python3 - <<'PY'
mods = ["requests"]
for name in mods:
    try:
        __import__(name)
        print(f"{name}: ok")
    except Exception as exc:
        print(f"{name}: missing ({exc})")
PY

If network access is unavailable, say so before claiming patent data was retrieved.

Bundled Assets

  • templates/patent_landscape.py

Patent Landscape Search

Use templates/patent_landscape.py for:

  • keyword + CPC-filtered patent search on PatentsView
  • automatic claim-type classification of each result
  • assignee ranking, filing-trend extraction, and family grouping
  • optional markdown landscape brief

Quick start:

python3 templates/patent_landscape.py \
  --query "KRAS G12C inhibitor" \
  --cpc-filter A61K \
  --max-results 200 \
  --output patents/kras_g12c_landscape.csv \
  --summary patents/kras_g12c_summary.json \
  --brief patents/kras_g12c_brief.md

Broad landscape with date range:

python3 templates/patent_landscape.py \
  --query "PD-1 antibody" \
  --cpc-filter A61K39 \
  --date-from 2015-01-01 \
  --max-results 500 \
  --output patents/pd1_ab_landscape.csv \
  --summary patents/pd1_ab_summary.json

Deliverables:

  • per-patent CSV with patent number, title, filing date, grant date, assignee, country, CPC, claim-type guess, estimated expiry year, and abstract snippet
  • summary JSON with total count, estimated family count, claim-type distribution, top assignees, country distribution, filing-year trend, and expiry window
  • optional markdown brief with tables and caveats

Expiry Timeline

Use templates/patent_landscape.py --mode expiry-timeline for:

  • patent expiry estimation sorted by earliest expiry
  • identification of upcoming patent cliffs for a compound or class
python3 templates/patent_landscape.py \
  --query "semaglutide" \
  --mode expiry-timeline \
  --output patents/semaglutide_expiry.csv \
  --summary patents/semaglutide_expiry.json

Deliverables:

  • patent CSV sorted by estimated expiry year
  • summary JSON with total patents and timeline entry count

Orange Book Cross-Reference

Use --orange-book-query to add FDA Orange Book data for a marketed drug:

python3 templates/patent_landscape.py \
  --query "semaglutide" \
  --mode expiry-timeline \
  --orange-book-query "semaglutide" \
  --output patents/semaglutide_expiry.csv \
  --summary patents/semaglutide_expiry.json

Orange Book entries include: brand name, generic name, NDA number, dosage form, route, and marketing status.

CPC Filter Reference

CPCScope
A61KPharmaceutical compositions (broadest drug filter)
A61K31Small-molecule active ingredients
A61K39Antibodies, vaccines, antigens
A61K47Excipients, carriers, formulation technology
A61PTherapeutic activity by indication
C07DHeterocyclic compounds (core scaffolds)
C07KPeptides and proteins

Claim-Type Classification Heuristics

The template matches title + abstract keywords to assign one of:

  • NCE / composition-of-matter — compound, molecule, chemical entity, active ingredient
  • formulation — dosage form, tablet, capsule, nanoparticle, sustained release
  • method-of-use — method of treating, therapeutic use, for the treatment
  • polymorph / salt form — polymorph, crystal form, salt, co-crystal, hydrate
  • combination — combination, co-administration, synergistic
  • biologic — antibody, recombinant, fusion protein, monoclonal
  • diagnostic — biomarker, companion diagnostic, imaging agent
  • device / delivery — device, inhaler, auto-injector, applicator
  • process / manufacturing — synthesis, preparation, method of making

First match wins. Unmatched patents are labeled unclassified. This is not claim analysis.

Output Expectations

Good answers should mention:

  • the query terms, CPC filter, and date range applied
  • number of patent families and individual documents retrieved
  • claim-type distribution
  • top assignees with filing counts
  • filing trend by year
  • estimated expiry window for key families
  • Orange Book listings if queried
  • explicit caveat: US patents only, heuristic classification, not legal counsel
  • where the CSV, JSON, and optional brief were saved

Related Skills

For compound and regulatory lookups from ChEMBL, openFDA, ClinicalTrials.gov, activate pharma-db-tools. For target-level intelligence dossiers, activate target-intelligence-tools. For clinical-pipeline competitive analysis, activate competitive-intelligence-tools. For drug repurposing hypothesis generation, activate drug-repurposing-tools.

Reference

This skill queries the following public APIs:

  • USPTO PatentsView API — https://api.patentsview.org/patents/query — US granted-patent search with CPC, date, and full-text filters (patentsview.org/apis)
  • FDA openFDA drugsFDA API — https://api.fda.gov/drug/drugsfda.json — Orange Book product listings including brand/generic names, NDA numbers, dosage forms, and marketing status (open.fda.gov/apis/drug/drugsfda)
  • CPC classification scheme — Cooperative Patent Classification maintained by EPO and USPTO; A61K/A61P/C07 subclasses are used as pharmaceutical relevance filters (cooperativepatentclassification.org)
  • Claim-type classification heuristics are adapted from pharmaceutical IP landscape methodology described in: Dubey R, Maheshwari S. "Patent landscape analysis: A methodology for drug discovery." Drug Discovery Today, 2020.