Patent Caselaw | Chile | Supreme Court Confirms Refusal of Patent for the Treatment of Psoriasis Related Lesions

The Chilean Supreme Court confirmed a ruling by the IP Court, which rejected Chilean company Muciderm SA’s appeal against the refusal of its patent application for a pharmaceutical composition, comprising snail slime, chamomile and honey, and a device for the treatment of skin lesions caused by psoriasis.

INAPI, Chile’s patent and trademark office had found that the applicant failed to produce evidence showing an inventive step or that the proposed invention was different from cited prior art and thus refused the patent application. The IP Court agreed with this argument and further found that the applicant failed specify what the invention consisted of, in a manner that would allow for its comparison with cited prior art, or to notice any advantage thereof.

An expert witness noted that the invention consisting of a composition comprising snail slime, chamomile and honey, for treating psoriasis, merely referred to the field-of-use and that it may not be a relevant different from cited prior art

In its ruling of November 3, 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed Muciderm’s cassation appeal and further noted that the description in a patent application must sufficiently describe the invention, and the patentability exam will only consider what is included in the claims set.

 Click here to request a copy of the Supreme Court’s decision or in case you wish any additional information.