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 Immuno-oncology in Pharmaceuticals: In-vitro T-cell activation. Buy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 756,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the pharmaceutical industry, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

In-vitro T-cell activation is a key innovation area in immuno-oncology

T cells can be activated and differentiated in vitro by crosslinking the TCR with CD3 antibodies and PMA treatment. Activation of T-cell proliferation specifically in a tumour is crucial for reducing the autoimmune side effects of antitumour immunotherapy. T-cell activation can be measured by assessing proliferation, up-regulation of activation markers and production of effector cytokines (IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha).

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 210+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of in-vitro T-cell activation.

Key players in in-vitro T-cell activation – 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 in-vitro T-cell activation

Immatics is the leading patent filer in in-vitro T-cell activation. Immatics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of T-cell immunotherapies to fight against cancer. Immatics has established two proprietary cancer cell target and TCR discovery platforms, namely XPRESIDENT and XCEPTOR. In 2022, Immatics and Editas Medicine entered a research collaboration and licensing agreement to combine gamma-delta T-cell adoptive cell therapies and gene editing to develop medicines for the treatment of cancer. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Cellectis are the other key patent filers in in-vitro T-cell activation.

In terms of application diversity, Gritstone Bio is the top company, followed by Merck and Targovax. By means of geographic reach, Systimmune holds the top position. Sichuan Baili Pharmaceutical and AbbVie stand 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 Immuno-Oncology – Thematic Research.

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.