A61P SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
Description
A61P classifies chemical compounds and medicinal preparations according to their specific therapeutic effects and clinical applications in human and veterinary medicine. This subclass encompasses pharmaceuticals organized by disease or condition treated, such as agents for cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, or neurological disorders, rather than by chemical structure or manufacturing process. Inventions in this category include active pharmaceutical ingredients, drug formulations, and combination therapies where the therapeutic target or indication is the primary classification criterion. Note that this class complements A61K (preparations for medical purposes), which focuses on formulation aspects and composition, whereas A61P emphasizes the therapeutic purpose and biological activity of the preparation.
Filing statistics
CPC subclass A61P recorded 1,315,178 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 98,407 in 2013 to 103,748 in 2023 (+5%), peaking at 144,884 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class A61 are PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (20,621 applications), NOVARTIS (15,792 applications) and ROCHE (14,303 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
22 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- A61P 1/00 Drugs for disorders of the alimentary tract or the digestive system
- A61P 11/00 Drugs for disorders of the respiratory system
- A61P 13/00 Drugs for disorders of the urinary system
- A61P 15/00 Drugs for genital or sexual disorders (for disorders of sex hormones A61P5/24); Contraceptives
- A61P 17/00 Drugs for dermatological disorders
- A61P 19/00 Drugs for skeletal disorders
- A61P 21/00 Drugs for disorders of the muscular or neuromuscular system
- A61P 23/00 Anaesthetics
- A61P 25/00 Drugs for disorders of the nervous system
- A61P 27/00 Drugs for disorders of the senses
- A61P 29/00 Non-central analgesic, antipyretic or antiinflammatory agents, e.g. antirheumatic agents; Non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs [NSAID]
- A61P 3/00 Drugs for disorders of the metabolism (of the blood or the extracellular fluid A61P7/00)
- A61P 31/00 Antiinfectives, i.e. antibiotics, antiseptics, chemotherapeutics
- A61P 33/00 Antiparasitic agents
- A61P 35/00 Antineoplastic agents
- A61P 37/00 Drugs for immunological or allergic disorders
- A61P 39/00 General protective or antinoxious agents
- A61P 41/00 Drugs used in surgical methods, e.g. surgery adjuvants for preventing adhesion or for vitreum substitution
- A61P 43/00 Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
- A61P 5/00 Drugs for disorders of the endocrine system
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class A61, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NL 20,621
- NOVARTIS CH 15,792
- ROCHE CH 14,303
- COVIDIEN US 13,862
- HARVARD UNIVERSITY US 13,454
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA US 12,798
- P&G (PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY) US 12,140
- L'OREAL FR 11,800
- OLYMPUS CORPORATION JP 9,894
- BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SCIMED US 9,513