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: Genetically modified T-cells.
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
Genetically modified T-cells is a key innovation area in the pharmaceutical industry
Genetically modified T-cells are a kind of immunotherapy that uses patients’ own T-cells to kill the cancer cells. The various modified T-cell therapies include chimeric antigen receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) therapy and T-Cell Receptor (TCR) therapy. They are made by collecting T-cells from patients, re-engineering them in a laboratory and then inserting them back into the patient.
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 90+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of genetically modified T-cells.
Key players in genetically modified T-cells – 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 genetically modified T-cells
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Cellectis | 254 | Unlock company profile |
| Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | 104 | Unlock company profile |
| CARsgen Therapeutics | 88 | Unlock company profile |
| City of Hope | 86 | Unlock company profile |
| Seattle Children's Hospital | 83 | Unlock company profile |
| Autolus | 74 | Unlock company profile |
| bluebird bio | 73 | Unlock company profile |
| CRISPR Therapeutics | 65 | Unlock company profile |
| Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center | 63 | Unlock company profile |
| Miltenyi Biotec | 60 | Unlock company profile |
| Pfizer | 60 | Unlock company profile |
| Genscript Biotech | 49 | Unlock company profile |
| Amgen | 43 | Unlock company profile |
| Allogene Therapeutics | 42 | Unlock company profile |
| Gilead Sciences | 36 | Unlock company profile |
| iCell Gene Therapeutics | 34 | Unlock company profile |
| Immatics | 33 | Unlock company profile |
| Nanjing Legend Biotech | 33 | Unlock company profile |
| EXUMA Biotech | 32 | Unlock company profile |
| St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital | 28 | Unlock company profile |
| PPF Group | 26 | Unlock company profile |
| Sangamo Therapeutics | 26 | Unlock company profile |
| Poseida Therapeutics | 25 | Unlock company profile |
| Adicet Bio | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| CytoImmune Therapeutics | 24 | Unlock company profile |
| KSQ Therapeutics | 23 | Unlock company profile |
| Caribou Biosciences | 21 | Unlock company profile |
| Precigen | 21 | Unlock company profile |
| Eureka Therapeutics | 21 | Unlock company profile |
| ImmunityBio | 20 | Unlock company profile |
| Shanghai Unicar-Therapy Bio-Medicine Technology | 20 | Unlock company profile |
| Green Cross Holdings | 19 | Unlock company profile |
| Helix BioPharma | 17 | Unlock company profile |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Takeda Pharmaceutical | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Johnson & Johnson | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Cartherics | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| Pact Pharma | 15 | Unlock company profile |
| Innovent Biologics | 15 | Unlock company profile |
| Shanghai Cell Therapy Group | 15 | Unlock company profile |
| Nanjing Iaso Biotherapeutics | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Arcellx | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| UNUM Therapeutics | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| HRAIN Biotechnology | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Puretech Health | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Cogent Biosciences | 13 | Unlock company profile |
| Bellicum Pharmaceuticals | 12 | Unlock company profile |
| Massachusetts General Hospital | 12 | Unlock company profile |
| ImmPACT-Bio | 12 | Unlock company profile |
| Juventas Cell Therapy | 11 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Cellectis is the leading patent holder in genetically modified T-cells therapies. The company's lead assets are UCART-22 and UCART-20, which are CAR-T therapies in clinical development. The company is developing several drugs which target CD19. Apart from its mid-to-late-stage assets, the company is also working on drugs which are in early stages of development. The company also filed various patents for a new type of CAR-T, which could show promising results in the future.
In terms of application diversity, Alpine Immune Sciences is the top company, followed by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Oxford BioMedica. By means of geographic reach, Amgen holds the top position, while Pfizer and Pact Pharma 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.
