Skip to main content

“Uncertain times for antibodies in India” by Archana Shanker and Nupur Maithani

In India, there are two core areas of the antibody patenting field that are unsettled and need correcting, as Archana Shanker and Nupur Maithani of Anand and Anand explain. 

Subject matter patentability and sufficiency requirements are issues that are dealt with at the Indian Patent Office (IPO). Issues/challenges relating to these aspects often go unnoticed unless there is an opposition involved. Here we are writing about trends in India in relation to antibodies. The increase in investment in research in the fields of biotechnology and antibodies, in particular, has led to an increase in the filing of patent applications related to antibodies.

More than 750 patents have been granted in India for antibodies and several are pending, which is a positive trend. However, there are two core areas in the field of antibody-related inventions which seem to be unsettled and need to be corrected soon. The first is how to characterise/define antibodies and the second is subject matter patentability.

Antibodies can be characterised in several ways, such as:

  • By the sequence of the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs);
  • Through their target protein;
  • By the target dependent/independent functional properties;
  • By deposition of cell lines;
  • By the sequence of the heavy chain and light chain variable regions;
  • By functional features (eg, binding to an epitope, dissociation constant); and
  • By the sequence of the epitope.

Read more: https://www.lifesciencesipreview.com/contributed-article/uncertain-times-for-antibodies-in-india

The article was first published in LSIPR.

Most Recent

News & Insights

VIEW ALL
News & Updates
Nov 04, 2025

In a remarkable conclusion to one of India’s longest-running trademark disputes, the order authored by Justice Sanjeev Narula of the Hon’ble High Court

DELHI HIGH COURT BRINGS 25-YEAR “CELEBRATIONS” TRADEMARK DISPUTE TO A WHOLESOME CLOSE
News & Updates
Nov 02, 2025

Partner Litigation, Dhruv Anand, spoke to Times of India for its dive-deep article on ‘Stars v AI’ giving a 360 degree roundup of what actually makes

Stars vs AI: Dhruv Anand speaks to ToI about personality rights and the intent behind protecting them
Thought Leadership
Oct 22, 2025

‘First published on Lexology’ By: Pravin Anand, Vaishali R Mittal and Siddhant Chamola A. INTRODUCTION Standards‑essential patents (“SEPs”)

Interim Licences vs Anti Interim Injunctions: a Cross Border Stand Off
Thought Leadership
Oct 16, 2025

‘First published on Lexology’ By: Safir Anand and Omesh Puri The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks has issued a

Indian Trade Marks Office issues Office Order – Streamlining Registry Function