The EPC 2000 expressly regulates the patenting of the second and of any further medical indications, establishing therewith a special rule for pharmaceuticals. The development of this special rule and the pertinent case law are reviewed below; probable and desirable changes in the way of claiming medical indications are discussed, including the issues of patenting medical indications in relation to discoveries, medical methods, inventiveness and the terms of a patent as boundaries within the EPC.