USPTO, JPO, and EPO Meet to Discuss Global IP Challenges
Joseph Mallon, Ph.D. & Ashley C. Morales
Beginning on October 20, 2025, recently confirmed United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John A. Squires met with European Patent Office (EPO) Vice-President Steve Rowan and Japanese Patent Office (JPO) Commissioner Yasuyuki Kasai for a two-day meeting as part of the 43rd annual meeting of the Trilateral Offices.
AI and the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance
Robert J. Hilton, Ph.D. & Bailey R. Arenberg
Antimicrobial resistance has become a major concern in recent years. According to studies, approximately 1.1 million deaths each year are linked to bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs.[1] The fear of antibiotic resistance continues to grow, as explained by recent reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that rates of dangerous bacterial infections surged by 69% between 2019 and 2023, with certain so-called “nightmare bacteria” being especially difficult to treat using existing antibiotics.[2] There are also concerns that when antibiotics kill harmful bacteria they kill beneficial gut bacteria as well.[3] Researchers have long sought narrow-spectrum antibiotics—drugs that selectively kill harmful bacteria while sparing beneficial species—but such compounds have been notoriously difficult to identify and validate.[4]
New FDA Program Prioritizes Review of Certain ANDAs
On October 3, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a pilot prioritization program that provides for accelerated review of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for generic companies that test and manufacture their products in the United States.[1] The aim of the program is to “spur and reward investment in U.S. drug manufacturing and research and development and strengthen the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain….”[2] According to the FDA, “[m]ore than half of pharmaceuticals distributed in the U.S. are manufactured overseas[,]” and “only 9% of API manufacturers are in the U.S., compared to 22% in China and 44% in India.”[3]
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