The pharmaceutical industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the evolution of 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 787,000 patents filed and granted in the pharmaceutical industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in pharma: immunogenic fusion proteins. Buy the report here.
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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 stabilizing 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.
80+ 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 668,000 patents, there are 80+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, engineered multi-specific antibodies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and mutant DNA polymerases are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Phenotypic drug screening, antibody-drug conjugates, and polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are drug delivery nanoparticles and antibody encoding polynucleotide libraries, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the pharmaceutical industry
Immunogenic fusion proteins is a key innovation area in the pharmaceutical industry
Immunogenic fusion proteins are molecules formed by the fusion of two or more protein sequences, whereby at least one of which is an antigenic or immunogenic sequence. These proteins are designed to stimulate an immune response in the body, either as a therapeutic agent for treating disease or as a vaccination strategy for preventing disease.
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 260+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of immunogenic fusion proteins.
Key players in immunogenic fusion proteins – a disruptive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to immunogenic fusion proteins
| Company | Total patents (2021 - 2023) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| GSK | 1276 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Johnson & Johnson | 296 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Sanofi | 186 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Pfizer | 179 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zoetis | 144 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Novartis | 141 | Unlock Company Profile |
| C. H. Boehringer Sohn | 128 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Qu Biologics | 105 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Sanaria | 89 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Molecular Templates | 86 | Unlock Company Profile |
| U.S. Department of Defence | 78 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Children's Medical Center | 75 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Vaximm | 71 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Inovio Pharmaceuticals | 69 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Bharat Biotech | 68 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Otsuka | 61 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Merck | 54 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Adjuvance Technologies | 50 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Sequoia Vaccines | 50 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Zydus Lifesciences | 50 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Gilead Sciences | 48 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Curevac | 48 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Artificial Cell Technologies | 46 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Sentinext Therapeutics Sdn Bhd | 44 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique | 42 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung | 41 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Scandinavian Biopharma | 36 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Panacea Biotec | 35 | Unlock Company Profile |
| X4 Pharmaceuticals | 33 | Unlock Company Profile |
| VLP Therapeutics | 33 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 33 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Optimus | 30 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Leidos | 29 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Takeda Pharmaceutical | 29 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Eurofins Scientific | 27 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine | 27 | Unlock Company Profile |
| The Cleveland Clinic Foundation | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Meiji | 26 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Vaxxinova | 22 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Prokarium | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Rhode Island Hospital | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Morishita Jintan | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| United States Army Reserve | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| CJ | 19 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Vir Biotechnology | 18 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Vac-4-All | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
GSK is one of the leading patent filers in immunogenic fusion proteins. The company is exploring several fusion proteins in the immunogenic space. One such fusion protein is pabinafusp alfa, which is being developed in collaboration with JCR Pharmaceuticals. The company is also developing other drugs with several other companies.
In terms of application diversity, Molecular Templates leads the pack, while Nationwide Children's Hospital and X4 Pharmaceuticals stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, Molecular Templates held the top position. followed by Gilead Sciences and X4 Pharmaceuticals.
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.
