A review of anti-parasitic patents (1988-2008).

New anti-parasitic drugs are urgently needed to treat and control diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, filariasis and schistosomiasis, which affect millions of people each year. In this review, we are focusing on patents of anti-parasitic agents that have been published during the last 20 years, from 01/1988 to 04/2008. The data collected demonstrate that the number of patents concerning this issue has been increasing. In addition, the reports for antiprotozoan compounds are more numerous when compared with anthelminths drugs. The synthetic products were the most patented, following of natural ones and combination of existing drugs. The discovery of new antiparasitic drugs to obtain a solution to million of people who suffer and die due to parasitic diseases is an urgent need.