Support : Publications : Chronolog Archives : September 2001

Pharmaceutical Patent Searching in Derwent Databases
Helping to alert organizations to the latest developments

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Derwent World Patents Index (Files 350, 351, 352)

Derwent's flagship product, the Derwent World Patents Index, is the most comprehensive, premium patent database in the world. Derwent WPI provides the searcher with unrivaled access to details of new pharmaceutical technologies, allowing organizations to conduct thorough searches for patents that may impact their R&D or patenting process.

The example below shows a search on Derwent WPI for foot and mouth diagnosis and helps to illustrate the value-added information contained within a Derwent WPI record. The example also shows how to set up and run an Alert for this search query, an automated search that is run each time that Derwent WPI is updated or monthly. Alerts are a low cost, current awareness tool and are the most effective way for any organization to monitor patent activities in a particular technology.

Before conducting a search, the searcher should set up the e-mail address to which the Alerts are to be sent. See Figure 1 to see how to set up an e-mail address.

Once an e-mail address has been set up, the searcher can conduct a search query. In Figure 2 we have conducted a search for foot and mouth diagnosis in File 351. This search query resulted in 44 matching records. We continue the example by looking at the first of the matching records.

?T 1/9/1

The Derwent WPI record in Figure 3 includes the Derwent Enhanced Title and the Derwent Abstract, which is split up into clearly headed paragraphs, detailing the Novelty, Use and Advantage of the invention. It also includes other value-added information such as the Technology Focus paragraph and Derwent Class and Manual Code classifications.

Once the search query has been run, it is possible to set up the strategy as an Alert, so that the query is run automatically each time that the Derwent WPI is updated. The Alert can then be sent to you by postal mail or by e-mail. Not every update will contain records as in the following. In Figure 4, we have chosen to receive the Alert by e-mail.

The Alert will now run automatically with each update, so there is no need to spend time and resources conducting the searches manually. To have the Alert run only monthly, include the word "MONTH" in the SAVE command (e.g., SAVE ALERT MONTH FOOTM).

Besides Derwent WPI, there are two other Derwent files on Dialog with valuable pharmaceutical information--Derwent Drug File (Files 377/912 and 376/913) and Derwent Biotechnology Abstracts (File 357). Subject coverage is summarized in Figure 5.

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Derwent Drug File (F377/912/DDNS and 376/913/DDBF)

Derwent Drug file is a highly focused database of selected articles from 1,200 international pharmaceutical journals and conference reports. The database contains over 1.6 million references dating back to 1964. Files 377/912/DDNS cover the literature from 1983 to the present while Files 376/913/DDBF cover the literature from 1964 through 1982. The Derwent Drug File is an ideal database for both retrospective searches and for keeping up-to-date via weekly Alerts on all aspects of drug development, synthesis, evaluation, manufacture and use.

Subjects covered include:

Derwent Drug File offers you:

• Broad technology coverage
• Powerful drug-based indexing
• A unique combination of biological and chemical information--ideal for exploring all types of structure-activity relationships
• Around 50,000 records added to the database per year, each record intellectually selected for relevance
• A highly informative abstract for all records outlining research methods and detailing results and conclusions drawn

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Derwent Biotechnology Abstracts (F357/DWBA)

Biotechnology is currently the hot topic in the pharmaceuticals industry! With Derwent Biotechnology Abstracts you won't waste time searching irrelevant biological information, because every abstract focuses specifically on processes and applications of biotechnology-related research. Use Alerts (updates every two weeks) to keep your users abreast of the latest developments and potential applications of biological systems to the pharmaceutical industry, medicine, pollution control and other commercial operations.

Pharmaceutical-relevant technologies covered include:

• Pharmaceuticals
• Genetic engineering, fermentation, recombinant production
• Cell culture
• Biochemical engineering
• Biocatalysts
• Purification and waste disposal

Derwent Biotechnology Abstracts offers you:

• Comprehensive coverage of over 1,200 international journals, conference proceedings, and patents from 40 issuing authorities --in one source back to 1982.
• Biweekly updates that allow you to monitor your competitor's activities in biotechnology around the world
• Clear, English-language summaries written by Derwent's biotechnology experts that enable users to focus easily on the biological content of every patent.

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