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: modified vector human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 vaccines. Buy the report here.

Smarter leaders trust GlobalData

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

Modified vector HIV-1 vaccines is a key innovation area in the pharmaceutical industry

Modified vector HIV-1 vaccines are vaccines that use recombinant DNA technology to modify viruses or bacteria such as adenovirus or vaccinia virus to carry HIV genes. The rationale behind this approach is to stimulate an immune response that will produce antibodies that can block HIV infection.

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 370+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of modified vector HIV-1 vaccines.

Key players in modified vector HIV-1 vaccines – 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 modified vector HIV-1 vaccines

Company Total patents (2010 - 2022) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
GSK 413 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson & Johnson 311 Unlock Company Profile
Verneuil Participations 173 Unlock Company Profile
CareGroup 166 Unlock Company Profile
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 152 Unlock Company Profile
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative 132 Unlock Company Profile
Esteve Pharmaceuticals 113 Unlock Company Profile
Solon Eiendom 105 Unlock Company Profile
Pfizer 92 Unlock Company Profile
Fundacion IrsiCaixa 89 Unlock Company Profile
Altimmune 89 Unlock Company Profile
Merck 87 Unlock Company Profile
F. Hoffmann-La Roche 82 Unlock Company Profile
AECOM 82 Unlock Company Profile
Compagnie Merieux Alliance 73 Unlock Company Profile
Globeimmune 73 Unlock Company Profile
Triad National Security 55 Unlock Company Profile
Inovio Pharmaceuticals 55 Unlock Company Profile
Theravectys 54 Unlock Company Profile
Gilead Sciences 52 Unlock Company Profile
Xigen Inflammation 52 Unlock Company Profile
TheVax Genetics Vaccine 51 Unlock Company Profile
Mymetics 50 Unlock Company Profile
Bavarian Nordic 50 Unlock Company Profile
Children's Medical Center 49 Unlock Company Profile
American Gene Technologies International 49 Unlock Company Profile
New York Blood Center 46 Unlock Company Profile
NoNO 46 Unlock Company Profile
Mount Sinai Health System 44 Unlock Company Profile
AGC 42 Unlock Company Profile
U.S. Department of Defence 42 Unlock Company Profile
Curevac 42 Unlock Company Profile
Mitsubishi Chemical Group 39 Unlock Company Profile
Xigen 34 Unlock Company Profile
Academia Sinica 33 Unlock Company Profile
PIN Pharma 33 Unlock Company Profile
SEEK Group 31 Unlock Company Profile
Yangshengtang 31 Unlock Company Profile
Precigen 29 Unlock Company Profile
Biomay 28 Unlock Company Profile
Bharat Biotech 27 Unlock Company Profile
Etubics 26 Unlock Company Profile
Sanofi 26 Unlock Company Profile
GC 25 Unlock Company Profile
Abbott Laboratories 25 Unlock Company Profile
Bio-Rad Laboratories 25 Unlock Company Profile
AlphaVax 24 Unlock Company Profile
Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris 24 Unlock Company Profile
Xiamen Innovax Biotech 24 Unlock Company Profile
Providence St. Joseph Health 23 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

GSK is one of the leading patent filers in modified vector HIV-1 vaccines. The company has filed several patents for HIV vaccine development and has developed multiple drugs for the same. It also acquired ViiV Healthcare, which is primarily involved vaccine development for the treatment of HIV.

In terms of application diversity, Xigen leads the pack, while Curevac and Globeimmune stood in second and third positions, respectively. By means of geographic reach, NoNO held the top position, followed by Curevac and Globeimmune.

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the pharmaceutical industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Pharmaceutical.

Premium Insights

From

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors.

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.