{"entity":{"id":"idea-tr2-combination-patent-pool","kind":"idea","name":"A patent pool for combination method-of-use claims","aka":[],"tldr":"Companies fear that testing a combination will hand a competitor a patent. A shared pool where combination patents are cross-licensed by default would remove the fear.","summary":"Method-of-use patents on combinations create a hold-up problem: whoever runs the trial may end up owing royalties to the other party or blocking them. Patent pools solved similar problems in DVD and telecoms standards. An oncology combination pool, entered voluntarily with fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, would make combination discovery pre-competitive.","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"Bottleneck evidence (Too many combinations to test): Palmer & Sorger, Combination cancer therapy can confer benefit via patient-to-patient variability without drug additivity or synergy (Cell 2017)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.009"}],"tags":[],"related":["idea-tr2-combination-template-agreement"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-combination-space","b-ip-collaboration"],"keyPapers":["paper-palmer-cell"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"hypothesis":"Pool members will initiate at least 50% more cross-company combination trials in the three years after joining than in the three years before.","rationale":"Pre-competitive consortia (the Structural Genomics Consortium, TransCelerate) have shown that pharma will pool where IP fear is removed and the benefit is shared.","test":"Convene a pool with five sponsors and a neutral administrator; track combination trial initiations and licensing disputes over three years.","maturity":"speculative","actor":"industry","cost":"small","horizonYears":3},"route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-combination-patent-pool/","neighbours":{"idea":[{"id":"idea-tr2-combination-template-agreement","kind":"idea","name":"A standard cross-company combination agreement that takes weeks, not years, to sign","route":"/ideas/idea-tr2-combination-template-agreement/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-ip-collaboration","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Secrecy and intellectual property block collaboration","route":"/bottlenecks/b-ip-collaboration/"},{"id":"b-combination-space","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Too many combinations to test","route":"/bottlenecks/b-combination-space/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-palmer-cell","kind":"paper","name":"Combination Cancer Therapy Can Confer Benefit via Patient-to-Patient Variability without Drug Additivity or Synergy","route":"/key-papers/paper-palmer-cell/"}]}}