Hi OvF, yes you are right. Most BP would not want to let go of...

Hi OvF, yes you are right. Most BP would not want to let go of their underlying patents, so sometimes, what they do is to come up with a 'new invention' that is based on the old patent, as a way to indirectly extend the life of the underlying. So it depends on whether they can come up with such new invention.

I'm not sure how a new combination therapy would be treated, potentially it could lead to a patent in itself, a new combination therapy for treatment of x cancer, such that if anyone wants to use that combination, they would have to licence it from the owners. So, it could be a situation where there is a patent owned by IMU for its immunotherapy, a patent owned by BP for their existing drug, and a patent for the combination (which may be a joint patent). I am not too sure about this last bit, but it is possible. It was a long while ago when I was in this field.