Research and development of anti-Parkinson's drugs: an analysis from the perspective of technology flows measured by patent citations.

INTRODUCTION: By 2020, nearly one million people will live with Parkinson's disease (PD) in the U.S. This disorder has a significant impact on patients' quality of life and is a burden on families and society. Protracted efforts have been made to treat the disease. Cumulative technological innovations are encapsulated by patents, and patent citations have been used to analyze technology diffusion processes in R&D, which is essential to identifying technology evolution trends and providing a review of PD treatment from the perspective of technology flows. AREAS COVERED: A patent citation network was utilized to analyze technology flows. Patents related to anti-PD drugs were collected from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (U.S. PTO) database. A total of 1,231 patents and 2,995 internal citations granted between 1988 and 2017 were included and analyzed. EXPERT OPINION: To launch drugs with greater efficiency and safety, approaches such as long-acting sustained release, controlled osmotic release, and other novel drug delivery systems should be emphasized. Multi-target agents could effectively reduce side effects in mono-drug therapy and are worth further exploration. Investors should keep an eye on alpha-synuclein-related therapy, gene therapy, and other experimental therapies that might trigger a historic revolution in the treatment domain.