Emerging Patent Landscape for Gene Therapy as a Potential Cure for COVID-19

Abstract

There is still a lack of effective therapies for treating SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, as doubts remain whether antibodies provide sufficient immunity for COVID-19, and the safety of vaccines under development needs further study. The treatment of coronavirus from the perspective of RNA interference-based gene therapy offers a more direct approach to combating viral genes in addition to traditional drugs and vaccines and is likely to have a promising future. In this paper, an analysis of the emerging patent landscape was given on gene therapies for coronavirus under development, highlighting patent applications' basic status, geographical distribution, time-series analysis of new inventors, and ranking of patent applicants. Relevant patents were also reviewed and summarized to provide ideas for the control of the current COVID-19 pandemic.