Patentability Of Dosage Regimen Claims

Given the scale of the pharmaceutical industry's investments and the financial risks involved, it is crucial for pharmaceutical companies to seek to maximize the duration of protection for their originator medicines. To this end, several strategies are implemented, ranging from the protection of the active ingredient through patents and supplementary protection certificates, to the patenting of different aspects linked to this active ingredient, such as its production process, its formulation, its "therapeutic use", its use with other compounds or its use in a particular dosage regimen.

In this context, dosage regimen patents have long been subject of debate: was it possible to obtain protection for a new administration regimen of an active ingredient that was already known?