Applications For Patent Term Extension (PTE) Now Easily Searchable at USPTO

As part of the USPTO’s effort to make drugs more affordable it is now publishing a list of PTE applications filed within the last five years by filing date as well as a listing all granted PTEs. This is the first time the USPTO has published a compilation of filed but not yet granted PTE applications.  Previously the USPTO published a list of granted PTEs only.  Previously the only way to discover if a PTE had been filed for a patent was to review the patent file history. This required that one first review the FDA Orange Book for patents listed for a newly approved drug and then search the USPTO application file records to determine if a PTE had been filed on one or more of the listed patents. The new list includes the drug name, patent number and PTE filing date; it also links directly to the application making review easy. Since a PTE application must be filed within 60 days of a drug’s approval the new listing will allow generic drug companies to determine the patent exclusivities quickly and easily for the new drug. A link to the PTE extension page is here.  The page has two lists, one for PTEs filed in the last five years and one for all granted PTEs.