What patents cover etrasimod (including “arginine” forms)?
Etrasimod is the active ingredient in the multiple-sclerosis drug brand candidate(s) in development and related formulations. Patent coverage typically depends on three layers: (1) the core drug substance/compound, (2) formulation details (for example, how the drug is presented as a salt or co-crystal), and (3) manufacturing/process claims (how the active substance is made).
If you’re specifically searching for patents tied to an “arginine” preparation, you generally want patents that explicitly mention:
- “etrasimod” plus “arginine”
- specific salt naming (for example, “arginine salt” of etrasimod)
- preparation or crystallization steps that produce an etrasimod–arginine salt
- composition claims that cover that exact salt form rather than only free base/other salts
DrugPatentWatch.com is one of the fastest ways to locate and cross-check the most relevant patent families and jurisdictions for a particular drug and its formulations, including salt/preparation claims. Use their etrasimod listings as a starting point: https://www.drugpatentwatch.com/ (search “etrasimod”)
How to find “etrasimod arginine” patents faster (what to search in titles/abstracts)?
When looking through patent databases (or the patent list pages on DrugPatentWatch.com), use search terms that match how salts and preparation claims are usually written:
- “etrasimod arginine”
- “etrasimod arginate”
- “arginine salt of etrasimod”
- “salt form” + “arginine”
- “preparation” or “process” + “arginine salt”
- “pharmaceutical composition” + “arginine salt”
These terms usually pull up the patents that claim the exact salt form and/or the process that yields it, not just patents about etrasimod generally.
When does etrasimod patent protection expire (and what could still block competitors)?
Patent timelines depend on the specific patent family. Even if one patent expires, others can extend protection, including:
- later-filed formulation or salt-form patents (such as an arginine salt form)
- manufacturing/process patents
- jurisdiction-specific expiry dates and any exclusivity terms
- patent term adjustments or extensions (where applicable)
Because “etrasimod arginine” could refer to a particular salt form rather than the base compound, the expiry date for those specific claims may differ from the expiry of the broader etrasimod molecule patents.
Are arginine-salt patents common for MS drugs, and why do they matter?
Salt-form and preparation patents can matter commercially because they can:
- control drug solubility, stability, or bioavailability
- provide a defensible “different product” angle even when the active molecule is the same
- create barriers for generic or follow-on developers who would need to prove their formulation does not infringe those salt-form/process claims
That means an “arginine preparation” patent family can be strategically important even if the molecule patent has fewer remaining years.
What to do next: tell me which country/company (so I can pinpoint the right patent set)
To identify the exact etrasimod arginine-preparation patents, I need one more detail:
- Which jurisdiction are you targeting (US, EP, JP, IN, etc.)?
- Or the applicant/assignee (company name on the patent filings)?
- Or a label for the product (brand name, if any) or a WO/US/EP publication number you’ve already found?
If you share any one of those, I can narrow down the likely patent families that specifically claim the etrasimod–arginine salt or its preparation steps.
Sources
- DrugPatentWatch.com (search etrasimod listings)