Conducting a Basic FTO Search with Bio

FTO research is necessary to help you determine if you can test or commercialize without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others. In this workflow, we will take a look at the Patsnap Bio tool within the context of an FTO search. We will investigate an example sequence through Patsnap Bio, filter our resulting sequence search results to relevant parameters, investigate the resulting patents from which those sequences originated, and we will also take a look at how we can manage and categorize our results through a Workspace.

To get started, navigate to the homepage of Bio and go into the "Sequences" tab to conduct the search. For this workflow, we will be using the following protein sequence:

XVQLVESGGG VVQPGRSLRL SCAASGFAFS SYGMHWVRQA PGKGLEWVAV IWFDGTKKYY

TDSVKGRFTI SRDNSKNTLY LQMNTLRAED TAVYYCARDR GIGARRGPYY MDVWGKGTTV

 

Since we are looking at this search from a freedom-to-operate perspective, after entering the sequence in the search box, only select the "Claims" checkbox before clicking on the "Submit" button. The rest of the settings we will leave as they are.

 

Once you arrive at the results page, you'll have the opportunity to further narrow down your search by utilizing the filters found on the left-hand side of the page. For instance, suppose you are specifically interested in "Chemically Modified" Sequences. In that case, simply navigate to the designated tab and check the "Yes" checkbox, then proceed by clicking the "Refine" button. This action will effectively filter out irrelevant results, leaving you with a more focused set of data, consisting of just 28 sequences that match your specific criteria.

 

After you are happy with your refinements, click on the "Patents" tab to continue our analysis:

 

On this page, since we are only interested in sequences mentioned in the claims, we will select the "In Claims" button so that our patent results are more specific to what we are looking for.

 

We can now go ahead and view the patents in Analytics by clicking on the "View in Analytics" button located near the top right of the page.

 

On the Analytics results page, you will find a brief preview of all the sequences included in each patent. Notably, all these sequences are specifically mentioned in the claims of the respective patents, which is indicated by a green tick mark.

 

Given that we are conducting a freedom-to-operate assessment, our primary focus will be on granted patents. To facilitate this, locate the "Simple Legal Status" section on the left-hand side as you scroll down the page. Within this section, choose the option "Active" to narrow down the results to granted patents that are currently in force. After making this refinement, click the "Refine" button to apply the filter. As a result, we will be left with 21 Patsnap families that match our specific criteria, streamlining our analysis and focusing on relevant and enforceable patents.

 

Shortly, we'll go through the process of identifying how these sequences are being claimed. However, before we begin analyzing these results, there are a few preliminary steps that will significantly ease result management. So, for now, keep this window open and click on the "workspace" button located near the bottom left of the screen to navigate to the workspaces page.

 

Once on the workspaces screen, navigate to the "Custom field management" tab located at the top right of the page

 

We will now proceed to create custom fields for our analyses. To begin, we will add a dropdown menu custom field labeled "Risk." This field will encompass the following options:

1. High: Patents that precisely align with our desired criteria, necessitating the potential pursuit of a license from the assignees or individuals involved. The interpretation of the claim could influence the course of action.

2. Medium: Instances where the interpretation and specific application of the claim may vary, and relevance to our objectives would require consideration. Pursuing a license might be necessary if the claim affects our interests.

3. Low: Cases where the claimed sequence falls within our boundaries but appears to be intended for unrelated or inconsequential purposes.

Please note that we will not conduct an in-depth analysis at this moment, as it exceeds the scope of this workflow article. However, the intention is to equip you with the ability to set up such options for your future analyses. Once your Custom Field tab looks like the following, go ahead and press "Submit":

We will now proceed to add another custom field, which will be a standard text field, allowing us to include additional notes, if necessary.

Going back to the Analytics results tab, we will now begin our analyses. Currently, we have 21 families containing sequences that have met our Bio search criteria. Click on the first patent and carefully review the abstract to ensure that it aligns with our search criteria. If any patent fails to meet our requirements, we will discard it and proceed to evaluate the next potential candidate by using the list on the right of the Patent View screen:

Having obtained 21 results, the quantity is manageable. In case of a larger result set, additional refinement might be necessary alongside the Simple legal status filtering, and this can involve the use of the "Advanced Refinement" tool which you can read more about here.

After reading the Abstract, navigate to the claims section, where highlighted sequences in orange are closest to the sequence we searched for. There are also other sequences highlighted in blue that don't meet our criteria but are found in the patent.

 

To facilitate our analysis, we will utilize the previously created custom fields. As we examine each patent, we can assign it a risk level, such as "high risk," through the custom field option located at the top right of the page. Additionally, we have the opportunity to include specific notes explaining the rationale behind our assessment, thereby fostering a more comprehensive and detailed analysis.

 

Once you have reviewed all 21 patents and have assigned a risk rating as well as added some notes, go back to the Analytics results page tab. We will proceed by saving these results to a dedicated workspace, where we can thoroughly analyze and review the findings. Subsequently, we can search for reports based on this analysis and share them with other relevant individuals within our organization or key stakeholders to ensure effective collaboration and decision-making. 

To save all the patents to a workspace, click on the green "Save to Workspace" button located on the top right of the screen. You can create a new workspace and folder to which you can save your patents.

Press "Confirm" and navigate to the new workspace you created by clicking on the yellow hyperlink that appears:

 

To add the two custom fields that we created earlier to the workspace, go to the "View Settings" tab and click "Set field display":

 

Navigate to the "Custom fields" tab and select the two custom fields to add them to the Workspace folder:

You will notice that the analysis we did for the patents through the 2 custom fields is now visible in the workspace:

 

You have the option to share this Workspace with your colleagues, allowing them to contribute to the analysis as well. To initiate this process, click on the green "Share" button situated at the top of the page. For further information on sharing and its functionalities, you can find a detailed article available here.

 

In conclusion, the workflow demonstrates the importance of Freedom to Operate research in evaluating intellectual property risks. Using Patsnap Bio, we filtered relevant patents matching our criteria and focused on granted patents. Custom fields streamlined the analysis process, enabling risk categorization and note-taking. By saving the results in a workspace, collaboration, and decision-making are facilitated within the organization. This approach provides an efficient and organized method for FTO research, optimizing business strategies.