FIZ Karlsruhe and Thomson Reuters advance chemical structure patent search

FIZ Karlsruhe and the Intellectual Property and Science business of Thomson Reuters have announced that Derwent Markush Resource is now available on STN International, the online service for research and patent information. Markush structures are widely used in chemical and pharmaceutical patents to protect a family of related compounds within a single invention.

The integration of Derwent Markush Resource into STN provides patent information professionals with a comprehensive view into the patentability of a chemical structure. The environment includes all major chemical databases and enhanced structure displays, allowing for a clearer understanding and significantly faster search and evaluation.

'We are proud to collaborate with FIZ Karlsruhe to accelerate the pace of innovation in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors,' said Gordon Macomber, global head of innovation industries at Thomson Reuters IP & Science. 'Through this partnership, we can provide comprehensive access to chemical structure data, seamlessly integrated with the world’s leading patent collection in Derwent World Patents Index. Patent research professionals can now assess the patentability of chemical structures more completely than ever before.'

Sabine Brünger-Weilandt, President and CEO of FIZ Karlsruhe, added: 'Markush searching is a challenging task mainly performed by patent information experts. FIZ Karlsruhe has developed a search environment for the Derwent Markush Resource to ensure complete and efficient searching of chemical patent information for the patent community.

'STN now offers a unique combination of content and powerful search functionality. Our customers will benefit from increased efficiency due to an improved workflow – from a precise search of generic structures to the identification of relevant chemical compounds in patents. The Derwent Markush Resource is an important pillar of our chemical patent information offer.'

Thomson Reuters Derwent Markush Resource contains more than 1.9 million generic chemical structures indexed from more than 780,000 patents worldwide, and complements Derwent World Patents Index and the Derwent Chemistry Resource, together providing a comprehensive collection of patent chemistry on STN.