Free Minesoft Databases, Part 2: FDA Drug Data on Orangebook

[tweetmeme source=”Intellogist” only_single=false] Last time, we looked at TMQuest, a free US trademark search system created by Minesoft that provides a user-friendly alternative to the USPTO Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).  Minesoft (the producer of subscription patent search system PatBase) hosts another free search site called Minesoft Orangebook, which is a free interface for searching the FDA’s drug database Orange Book.  On the FDA website, users can search the Orange Book database by active ingredient, proprietary name, patent number, applicant holder, or application number, and results are viewable in a chart format.  The Minesoft interface allows users to search by all the criteria available on the FDA website, and it also allows the user to search by patents expiry/exclusivity expiry date (year only).  The Minesoft interface additionally allows users to view search results in either a chart or graphic format, including bar graphs or pie charts.

The Minesoft search interface for FDA Orange Book data allows users to utilize additional search criteria and more advanced result viewing features than what is currently available on the FDA website.  After the jump, learn about the search and display features of Minesoft Orangebook!

On Minesoft Orangebook, users can select from three tabs to search under:

• Patents– Search for patents expiry by company name, year, or patent number. Under the “Patents” and “Exclusivity” tabs, the company name search form provides users with an auto-suggest function for common company names, which appear in a dropdown menu as the user types in the form.
  

  Search by company name (including auto-suggest function), patent expiry date, or patent number under the "Patents" tab.

  Search results are organized in a table that lists application number, patent number, patent expiry date, proprietary name, active ingredient, and applicant. The user can also sort the table by any of these criteria in ascending or descending order. Besides the table format, the user can also view results in a graph format (bar graph for a search by company name and pie chart for a search by year or patent number). Selecting an application number from the list of results will take the user to the full record for that FDA application number.

• Exclusivity– Search for exclusivity expiry by company name or year. Search results are organized in a table that lists application number, exclusivity code, exclusivity expiry date, proprietary name, active ingredient, and applicant. The user can also sort the table by any of these criteria in ascending or descending order.
  

  The chart format of search results under the "Exclusivity" tab.

  Besides the table format, the user can also view results in a graph format (bar graph for a search by company name and pie chart for a search by year).

  

  The graphic format of search results under the "Exclusivity" tab (pie chart).

  Selecting an application number from the list of results will take the user to the full record for that FDA application number, and selecting an exclusivity code will display the code description.

• Search– Combine two search forms using a Boolean operator, and define the fields to search within each form through a drop down menu of field options (applicant, proprietary name, application number, or active ingredient). Search results are organized in a table that lists application number, proprietary name, active ingredient, and applicant. The user can also sort the table by any of these criteria in ascending or descending order. Selecting an application number from the list of results will take the user to the full record for that FDA application number.
  

  The full record for a result (under the "Search" tab).

Conclusion

Like TMQuest can be used as an alternative to TESS, Minesoft Orangebook can be used as an alternative interface for searching the free FDA drug data that is also available through the FDA website.  The Minesoft interface provides additional search criteria (patents expiry/exclusivity expiry year) and display functions (pie/bar graph format for viewing results) that aren’t available on the FDA website interface.  Through both TMQuest and Orangebook, Minesoft uses the free data produced by the US government to create user-friendly search systems with additional features that aren’t available on the government website search interfaces.

Do you know of any other free interfaces for searching US trademark or FDA Orange Book data? Tell us about them in the comment section!

This post was contributed by Joelle Mornini. The Intellogist blog is provided for free by Intellogist’s parent company Landon IP, a major provider of patent searches, trademark searches, technical translations, and information retrieval services.