Life Cycle Management For Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Based On The Patents Analyzing

Chinese industries and enterprises face tremendous opportunities and challenges with the rapid economical development, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) industry is becoming a new increasing point. During the internationalization of TCM industry, how to protect its intellectual property rights becomes more and more important. To face the threats from the transnational corporations, how do TCM enterprises fill patent to extent the life cycle for pharmaceuticals? How to gain competitive position in global pharmaceutical market and to protect the ownership right? In this paper questions above would be discussed and answered, in order to put forward some practical suggestions to TCM enterprise to frame and enforce the patent strategy.In this study, many methods are used during the research including qualitative analysis, statistical analysis, case research and interviews with experts. Firstly, patent data of TCM has been searched and analyzed to identify the main factors; Secondly, four methods to extend the pharmaceuticals'life-cycle in the domestic market are proposed. And the applicability as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the methods are analyzed by comparing the patent portfolio of the typical enterprises of TCM, TongRenTang and Tasly. Thirdly, comparative analysis is used to study foreign patent-related policy, and case analysis is used to discuss how TCM to use the law on the international market. Finally, some suggestions are raised on patent strategy of TCM from the government and company aspects.Through the above analysis, the conclusions were as followed. (1) traditional secret prescription is suitable for the protection of business secrets, and to use the patent to protect the reform of dosageform; modern TCM is suitable for selectively using the external patents, and in the process of filling patent make use of patent priority system, in order to extend the product life cycle; (2) patent standardization strategy didn't accord with the technique characteristics and property of TCM; (3) the innovative drug companies can use Patent Term Extension (PTE) system and Pediatric Exclusivity to extend the pharmaceutical's life cycle in the international market; PTE system didn't accord with China's situation, but the generic drug companies can use it. Based on the problems found in the course of study, the paper suggests improving the TCM patent strategy from two aspects: (1) the government should furtherly improve the TCM patent system, make the high level encouraging and leading policy on TCM patent application; (2) the enterprises should enhance the technical innovation and understanding of patent value.