Patent analysis as a tool for research planning: study on natural based therapeutics against cancer stem cells

Medicines developed from traditional systems are well known for their various important pharmaceutical uses. Cancer has been known since ancient times and has been mentioned in the ancient Ayurvedic books. Thus natural based products play a significant role in cancer chemotherapeutics. Further, approximately 70% of anticancer compounds are based on natural products or have been derived from their structural scaffolds. Hence, there is a growing interest for developing medicines from these natural resources. Amongst the methods of treating cancer, therapies targeting cancer stem cell are found to control metastatic tumor which is a newly identified factor associated with relapse. This patent review aims to highlight the use of natural products to treat cancer by targeting the cancer stem cells. The review will also provide insights into the reported mechanisms by which the natural products act in order to suppress or kill cancer stem cells. The analysis has been done using various criteria such as the patenting trend over the years, comparison of active assignee and a comparison of the technical aspects as disclosed in the different patent documents. The analysis further highlights different bioactives, the scaffolds of which could thus be a promising candidate in the development of anti-cancer drugs by targeting the cancer stem cells. The technical aspects covered in this review include: Bioactives and formulations comprising the extracts or bioactives, their mode of action and the type of assay considered to study the efficacy of the natural products. Further the mapping has helped us to identify potential therapeutic areas to evaluate herbs/bioactives and their uses for developing new formulations.