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: Monoclonal antibody drugs for cancer. 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 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

Monoclonal antibody drugs for cancer is a key innovation area in pharmaceutical

Used to treat cancer, monoclonal antibodies are a type of targeted cancer therapy that use lab-created antibodies to find and kill specific cancer cells. Treatment with monoclonal antibodies also helps immune systems defend against cancer. Monoclonal antibodies act by several mechanisms of action such as targeting the immune system, delivering  toxic payloads to cancer cells or by blocking the cancer cell signals.

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 40+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of monoclonal antibody drugs for cancer.

Key players in monoclonal antibody drugs for cancer – 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 monoclonal antibody drugs for cancer

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Johnson & Johnson 204 Unlock Company Profile
Bristol-Myers Squibb 113 Unlock Company Profile
Molecular Partners 111 Unlock Company Profile
MacroGenics 71 Unlock Company Profile
Arcellx 68 Unlock Company Profile
Pieris Pharmaceuticals 63 Unlock Company Profile
F. Hoffmann-La Roche 56 Unlock Company Profile
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 51 Unlock Company Profile
Subdomain 44 Unlock Company Profile
Complix 43 Unlock Company Profile
F-star Therapeutics 38 Unlock Company Profile
Mitsubishi Chemical Group 37 Unlock Company Profile
Eureka Therapeutics 32 Unlock Company Profile
GSK 31 Unlock Company Profile
City of Hope 26 Unlock Company Profile
Poseida Therapeutics 25 Unlock Company Profile
F-Star Delta 24 Unlock Company Profile
F-Star Beta 21 Unlock Company Profile
Affibody 20 Unlock Company Profile
Horizon Therapeutics 18 Unlock Company Profile
AdAlta 18 Unlock Company Profile
Avacta Group 16 Unlock Company Profile
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum 15 Unlock Company Profile
United States Of America 14 Unlock Company Profile
ImmunityBio 12 Unlock Company Profile
Astellas Pharma 12 Unlock Company Profile
St. Anna Kinderkrebsforschung 11 Unlock Company Profile
Zymeworks 11 Unlock Company Profile
IONTAS 11 Unlock Company Profile
UV-Cap 9 Unlock Company Profile
PT Soho Global Health Tbk 8 Unlock Company Profile
TargImmune Therapeutics 8 Unlock Company Profile
Bayer 8 Unlock Company Profile
US Department of Health and Human Services 8 Unlock Company Profile
Suzhou Zelgen Biopharmaceutical 7 Unlock Company Profile
Abclon 7 Unlock Company Profile
Gilead Sciences 7 Unlock Company Profile
Pheromonicin Biotech 7 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 6 Unlock Company Profile
Maxion Therapeutics 6 Unlock Company Profile
DCB-USA 6 Unlock Company Profile
US Government 5 Unlock Company Profile
Moderna 5 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Johnson & Johnson is one of the leading patent filers for monoclonal antibodies in cancer. Stelara, Darzalex, Remicade, Simponi, and Tremfya are some of the approved monoclonal antibodies from Johnson & Johnson. The company provides pharmaceuticals for immune diseases, cancer, neurological disorders, infectious, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

In terms of application diversity, PT Soho Global Health is the top company, followed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and TargImmune Therapeutics. By means of geographic reach, IONTAS holds the top position, while GSK and MacroGenics are 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.