The pharmaceutical industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the evolution of new treatment paradigms, and the gravity of unmet needs, as well as the growing importance of technologies such as pharmacogenomics, digital therapeutics, and artificial intelligence. In the last three years alone, there have been over 633,000 patents filed and granted in the pharmaceutical industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Chemotherapy in Pharmaceuticals: Purine derivatives-based cancer drug compositions.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 756,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the pharmaceutical industry, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Purine derivatives-based cancer drug compositions is a key innovation area in chemotherapy

Purine is an important heterocyclic nucleus in the chemical architecture of many bioactive compounds. Among its key functions, it interacts with nucleic acids and enzymes during their synthesis and function. The chemically modified purines act as inhibitors of kinases, fructose biphosphatases, adenylation enzymes, and adenosine receptors. Chemical properties of substituted purine derivatives make them suitable for binding to the hydrophobic folds of physiologically important proteins, including tyrosine kinases, sulfatases, and phosphorylases. It is possible that these protein hydrophobic folds target purines, which could influence disease progression. Fludarabine and nelarabine are some of the examples of chemotherapeutic drug combinations containing purine ring and/or its derivatives used in cancer treatment.

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies.  According to GlobalData, there are 140+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of purine derivatives-based cancer drug compositions.

Key players in purine derivatives-based cancer drug compositions – a disruptive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Patent volumes related to purine derivatives-based cancer drug compositions

Company Total patents (2010 - 2021) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Gilead Sciences 363 Unlock company profile
Takeda Pharmaceutical 334 Unlock company profile
Bristol-Myers Squibb 264 Unlock company profile
Amgen 192 Unlock company profile
Alembic Pharmaceuticals 191 Unlock company profile
GSK 189 Unlock company profile
F. Hoffmann-La Roche 187 Unlock company profile
Infinity Pharmaceuticals 148 Unlock company profile
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 141 Unlock company profile
E. Merck 137 Unlock company profile
Eli Lilly and 136 Unlock company profile
Ono Pharmaceutical 133 Unlock company profile
Viracta Therapeutics 127 Unlock company profile
AbbVie 113 Unlock company profile
Merck & Co 112 Unlock company profile
Capgemini 98 Unlock company profile
Daiichi Sankyo 97 Unlock company profile
Ipsen 91 Unlock company profile
C. H. Boehringer Sohn 88 Unlock company profile
Biogen 86 Unlock company profile
Incyte 84 Unlock company profile
Selecta Biosciences 83 Unlock company profile
Pfizer 72 Unlock company profile
Almirall 72 Unlock company profile
Chiesi Farmaceutici 68 Unlock company profile
Zenith Capital 62 Unlock company profile
Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals 60 Unlock company profile
Sanofi 59 Unlock company profile
eFFECTOR Therapeutics 54 Unlock company profile
Vertex Pharmaceuticals 53 Unlock company profile
Cancer Research UK 46 Unlock company profile
Sumitomo Chemical 46 Unlock company profile
Rocket Pharmaceuticals 42 Unlock company profile
Ligand Pharmaceuticals 41 Unlock company profile
Verastem 40 Unlock company profile
Forma Therapeutics Holdings 39 Unlock company profile
IRM 38 Unlock company profile
OliPass 35 Unlock company profile
Cleave Therapeutics 35 Unlock company profile
Otsuka Holdings 33 Unlock company profile
Exelixis 33 Unlock company profile
Lupin 32 Unlock company profile
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals 32 Unlock company profile
Annji Pharmaceutical 32 Unlock company profile
NMS Group 31 Unlock company profile
Cancer Research Technology 29 Unlock company profile
Shanghai Yingli Pharmaceutical 29 Unlock company profile
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 28 Unlock company profile
Bioway 26 Unlock company profile
BioPatterns sro 25 Unlock company profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Gilead Sciences is the leading patent filer in purine derivatives-based cancer drug compositions. It is engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialisation of therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular, haematological, respiratory, inflammatory, liver diseases, as well as cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Takeda Pharmaceutical and Bristol-Myers Squibb are the other key patent filers in purine derivatives-based cancer drug compositions.

In terms of application diversity, Celularity is the top company, followed by Primmune Therapeutics and Selecta Biosciences. By means of geographic reach, Primmune Therapeutics Inc  holds the top position.  Viracta Therapeutics and J Uriach Y Compania SA stand in second and third positions, respectively.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the pharmaceutical industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Immuno-Oncology – Thematic Research.

GlobalData

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.