Patent-busting AI tool navigates around protected drug pathways
Organic retrosynthesis software can identify key bonds involved in patented reactions to find alternative pathways
Chematica – software that can plan chemical syntheses – has been used to circumvent drug patents by avoiding protected pathways to a target molecule. The new feature is based on an algorithm that can identify and preserve particularly important bonds in the target compound. Using this tool, the creators of the software could find new routes to several known pharmaceuticals. They believe their results could affect the way intellectual property (IP) is viewed in the future.