U.S. Patent No. 10,245,237 B2 (‘237) issued on April 2, 2019, for “Compressed Tablet Containing Cannabidiol, Method for its Manufacture and Use of Such Tablet in Oral Treatment of Psychosis or Anxiety Disorders.” It was issued to inventors Jan Albert de Vries, of Zelhem, Netherlands, Maria Vanesa Fernandez Cid, of Haarlem, Netherlands, Ana Maria Hervedia Lopez, of Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Maria Elroa Martinez, of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The assignee is Echo Pharmaceuticals B.V., of Weesp, Netherlands. The specification discloses the formulation of a tablet containing CBD and a smaller amount of THC. The tablet is oraly administered to treat a host of illnesses including schizophrenia, delusional disorder, paraphenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. The claims are directed to the composition formulation of the tablet comprising, among others, 2-15 wt. % of cannabidiol (CBD), or 2-100 mg of CBD, and 0-5% of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC). Further, the claims aire directed to the methods of treatment for psychosis and anxiety.
The patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer under 37 C.F.R. §1.321(c), which means the patent’s term is shortened as a result of another related issued patent to the same applicant. Here, the ‘237 patent’s term has been disclaimed by two other Echo patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 9,616,025 and 9,943,491, both of which have a priority date of October 29, 2014. The ‘237 patent, therefore, expires on October 29, 2034.
The Cooperative Patent Classifications is A61K (preparations for medical, dental, or toilet purposes, namely, phenols (31/05), pills, tablets using sugars or sugar alcohols, e.g., lactose, mannitol, (9/2018), characterized by shape, structure or size, partially coated tablets, or disintegrating flat shaped forms, (9/2072), and tabletting processes, dosage units made by direct compression of powders or specially processed granules, by eliminating solvents (9/2095)).
Echo is one of the leading Big Canna Pharma companies, with 52 patents worldwide in its portfolio. While the bulk of the cannabis industry are smaller cultivators and researchers, Echo’s larger resources have been useful in advancing research into therapeutic uses for cannabis-related products. Please contact Yonaxis for more information on any of the IP processes described in this posting if you have any questions.