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: Nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredient. 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

Nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredient is a key innovation area in pharmaceutical

The active ingredients in nucleic acid drugs are oligonucleotides, which are short, single, or double-stranded DNA or RNA molecules, and include antisense oligonucleotides (ASO), RNA interference (RNAi), and aptamer RNAs. Oligonucleotides is used to block the production of proteins needed for cell growth. They are being studied in the treatment of several types of cancer.

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 100 companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredient.

Key players in nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredient – 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 nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredient

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Ionis), formerly ISIS Pharmaceuticals, is one of the leading patent filers in nucleic acid active pharmaceutical ingredients. It focuses on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted drugs. Its major products include Spinraza for spinal muscular atrophy, Tegsedi for neuropathy, and Waylivra for familial chylomicronemia syndrome. It develops products based on its proprietary antisense technology. The company partnered with other pharmaceutical companies to develop a range of products in different therapeutic areas.

In terms of application diversity, OPKO CURNA is the top company, followed by Idera Pharmaceuticals and Neurovision Pharma. By means of geographic reach, IVERIC bio holds the top position, while Pharma Mar and MiNA (Holdings) 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.

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.