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 Innovation in Pharmaceuticals: CRISPR vectors.
However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
110 innovations will shape the pharmaceutical industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the pharmaceutical industry using innovation intensity models built on over 756,000 patents, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, cell therapy for ocular disorders, coronavirus vaccine components, and DNA polymerase compositions are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Adeno-associated virus vectors, alcohol dehydrogenase compositions, and antibody serum stabilisers are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are anti-influenza antibody compositions and anti-interleukin-1, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the pharmaceutical industry
CRISPR vectors is a key innovation area in pharmaceutical development
CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system works by cutting DNA precisely and allowing natural DNA repair processes to take over. The system consists of two parts, the Cas9 enzyme and a guide RNA. The delivery of CRISPR/Cas9 components into the cell fall into two broad categories, viral and non-viral.
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 120 companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of CRISPR vectors.
Key players in CRISPR vectors – 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 CRISPR vectors
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| CRISPR Therapeutics | 198 | Unlock company profile |
| Editas Medicine | 181 | Unlock company profile |
| E. Merck | 172 | Unlock company profile |
| Inscripta | 122 | Unlock company profile |
| Massachusetts General Hospital | 99 | Unlock company profile |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 97 | Unlock company profile |
| Intellia Therapeutics | 94 | Unlock company profile |
| Caribou Biosciences | 81 | Unlock company profile |
| Corteva | 74 | Unlock company profile |
| Bayer | 64 | Unlock company profile |
| General Hospital | 58 | Unlock company profile |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 57 | Unlock company profile |
| Sangamo Therapeutics | 56 | Unlock company profile |
| Beam Therapeutics | 52 | Unlock company profile |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | 44 | Unlock company profile |
| ToolGen | 42 | Unlock company profile |
| Seattle Children's Hospital | 41 | Unlock company profile |
| Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories | 39 | Unlock company profile |
| Modalis Therapeutics | 38 | Unlock company profile |
| Fate Therapeutics | 35 | Unlock company profile |
| Danaher | 34 | Unlock company profile |
| IONTAS | 34 | Unlock company profile |
| KSQ Therapeutics | 33 | Unlock company profile |
| EdiGene | 32 | Unlock company profile |
| G+FLAS Life Sciences | 30 | Unlock company profile |
| Cellectis | 27 | Unlock company profile |
| Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center | 25 | Unlock company profile |
| Arc Bio | 25 | Unlock company profile |
| Keygene | 25 | Unlock company profile |
| Arbor Biotechnologies | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| Tropic Biosciences UK | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| Flagship Pioneering | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| Application of Information and Communication Technologies (AICT) | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| Excision BioTherapeutics | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| Rocket Pharmaceuticals | 22 | Unlock company profile |
| Children's Hospital of Philadelphia | 22 | Unlock company profile |
| Sanofi | 21 | Unlock company profile |
| Charles Stark Draper Laboratory | 20 | Unlock company profile |
| Puretech Health | 19 | Unlock company profile |
| Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine | 19 | Unlock company profile |
| Intima Bioscience | 19 | Unlock company profile |
| AnGes | 18 | Unlock company profile |
| Royal DSM | 18 | Unlock company profile |
| Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings | 17 | Unlock company profile |
| DuPont de Nemours | 17 | Unlock company profile |
| China National Chemical | 17 | Unlock company profile |
| Snipr Technologies | 17 | Unlock company profile |
| UAB Research Foundation | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| SNIPR Biome | 15 | Unlock company profile |
| BlueAllele | 14 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
CRISPR Therapeutics is the leading patent filer in CRISPR vectors. It is a gene editing company and focuses on the development of transformative medicines using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing platform. Its major development programs include ex vivo programs involving gene editing of hematopoietic cells, ex vivo programs in immuno-oncology, in vivo programs targeting the liver, and additional in vivo programs targeting other organ systems, including muscle and lung.
In terms of application diversity, Poseida Therapeutics is the top company, followed by Puretech Health and CARsgen Therapeutics. By means of geographic reach, Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories hold the top position. Massachusetts General Hospital and Biocad 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 Pharmaceutical.
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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.
