Will the nanomedicine "patent land grab" thwart commercialization?

This article looks at some of the challenges that nanotechnology-enabled medicines and devices may face from their development in the laboratory to their release into the market, especially in the area of patents. Evidence from past developments in the medical field show that companies, start-ups, and universities are paying more attention to patents, and are willing to risk a larger portions of their budgets on getting and defending patents on their newly-developed products. The authors predict that the development of nanomedicine products is likely to be extremely hampered in the absense of the market exclusivity offered by a U.S. Patent and the slow reaction to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to new technologies. The article discusses trends in nanotechnology patents in the U.S, and predicts that companies will face quite a bit of uncertainty over the validity of overly-broad and overlapping patents held by other organizations, and small start-ups may face expensive legal battles with larger companies over intellectual property rights over nanomedicines they have developed. The authors point out the need that reforms be taken within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to ensure a better balance between innovation and competition, and predict that the patent thicket problem may prove to be a major hindrance to nanomedicine commercialization.