Pharmacological therapies for cataract and refractive errors: landscaping niches of ocular drug patenting

We have used a focused and comprehensive ophthalmology patent database to characterize the international patenting landscape dedicated to the pharmacological treatment of cataract, corneal opacities and dystrophies, and complicated refractive errors. A total of 201 disclosures related to cataract or corneal clouding (published between 1982 and 2011), and 99 documents (published between 1991 and 2011) related to refractive or geometry errors were identified. Current applications for the treatment or prevention of primary cataract have ceased to address diabetic cataract specifically through the inhibition of glycation-specific mechanisms. The most innovative approaches for pharmacotherapy of the lens focus on phase separation inhibitors, modulators of the TGF-β pathway, and matrix metalloproteinase inhibition. Patenting for the prevention of secondary cataracts as a delayed complication of intraocular lens insertion follows similar routes. For keratoconus, progressive myopia and Avellino corneal dystrophy, the focus remains on efficiently stabilizing the corrected shape of the cornea in the course of orthokeratology treatments. We expect future patenting in the fields of our investigation to concentrate more heavily on molecular medicine, in close lockstep with biotechnology and genetic testing.