The pharmaceutical industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the evolution of new treatment paradigms, the gravity of unmet need, as well as the growing importance of technologies such as pharmacogenomics, digital therapeutics, and artificial intelligence (AI). 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 Artificial Intelligence in Pharmaceuticals: DNA polymorphism detection.
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 for AI, DNA chips, tissue culturing automation, and mass spectrometry analysis are examples of disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. DNA binding site prediction, peptide structure optimisation, and AI-assisted genome analysis are accelerating innovation areas for AI in the pharmaceutical industry, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are in-silico drug discovery, DNA polymorphism detection, and genome sequence analysis, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for artificial intelligence in the pharmaceutical industry
DNA polymorphism detection is a key innovation area in artificial Intelligence
Investigation into human genetic variation has provided insight into common and rare diseases, accelerated the pace of drug development, and paved the way towards the future of precision medicine. Exploring genotyping analysis unravels the complex relationships between genotype and phenotype as well as tries to focus on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), insertion or deletion polymorphisms (indels), and copy number variants (CNVs).
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 80+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups, engaged in the development and application of DNA polymorphism detection.
Key players in DNA polymorphism detection – 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 DNA polymorphism detection
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Thermo Fisher Scientific is one of the innovators in the field of genotyping. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of genotyping solutions for SNP, indel, and CNV analysis. It also provides solutions such as genotyping microarrays, real-time polymerase reaction (PCR) for genotyping, targeted genotyping by sequencing, digital PCR for genotyping, fragment analysis by capillary electrophoresis, and in situ hybridisation.
In terms of application diversity, Axcella Health is the top company, followed by Pronutria Biosciences and Curevac. By means of geographic reach, Baxter International holds the top position. TRON and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health are in the 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 Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare – Thematic Research.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
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.
