The pharmaceutical industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by the evolution of 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 136,000 patents filed and granted in the pharmaceutical industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cell & gene therapy in pharma: cancer CAR-T receptorsBuy the report here.

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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 730,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the pharmaceutical industry, there are 80+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Cancer CAR-T receptors is a key innovation area in cell & gene therapy

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is an innovative and promising immunotherapy approach for the treatment of certain types of cancer. CAR-T cells are engineered immune cells designed to target and destroy cancer cells effectively. The key component of CAR-T cells is the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), which serves as a synthetic receptor that redirects T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. CARs are composed of several critical elements, including an extracellular antigen-binding domain, a transmembrane domain, and intracellular signaling domains. The extracellular domain contains the receptor that recognizes specific antigens on cancer cells.

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 950+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of cancer CAR-T receptors.

Key players in cancer CAR-T receptors – a disruptive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.   

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.  

Patent volumes related to cancer CAR-T receptors

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Immatics 2786 Unlock Company Profile
Bristol-Myers Squibb 1107 Unlock Company Profile
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center 634 Unlock Company Profile
Cellectis 608 Unlock Company Profile
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 495 Unlock Company Profile
Iovance Biotherapeutics 476 Unlock Company Profile
Autolus 450 Unlock Company Profile
Gilead Sciences 418 Unlock Company Profile
NantWorks 339 Unlock Company Profile
NEW HOPE, CITY OF 318 Unlock Company Profile
Novartis 291 Unlock Company Profile
Seattle Children's Hospital 272 Unlock Company Profile
bluebird bio 264 Unlock Company Profile
Miltenyi Biotec 252 Unlock Company Profile
CRISPR Therapeutics 222 Unlock Company Profile
Eureka Therapeutics 208 Unlock Company Profile
Adaptimmune Therapeutics 202 Unlock Company Profile
BioNTech 190 Unlock Company Profile
Nanjing Legend Biotech 189 Unlock Company Profile
Pfizer 183 Unlock Company Profile
Allogene Therapeutics 174 Unlock Company Profile
PT Soho Global Health 166 Unlock Company Profile
Precision Biosciences 164 Unlock Company Profile
Massachusetts General Hospital 148 Unlock Company Profile
Takeda Pharmaceutical 146 Unlock Company Profile
CARsgen Therapeutics 136 Unlock Company Profile
Fate Therapeutics 135 Unlock Company Profile
City of Hope 135 Unlock Company Profile
Poseida Therapeutics 130 Unlock Company Profile
2Seventy Bio 122 Unlock Company Profile
Sangamo Therapeutics 116 Unlock Company Profile
Johnson & Johnson 115 Unlock Company Profile
Instil Bio 113 Unlock Company Profile
TCR2 Therapeutics 112 Unlock Company Profile
F. Hoffmann-La Roche 112 Unlock Company Profile
Immunocore 111 Unlock Company Profile
Innovative Cellular Therapeutics 107 Unlock Company Profile
Editas Medicine 100 Unlock Company Profile
CBMG 99 Unlock Company Profile
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 97 Unlock Company Profile
Celularity 96 Unlock Company Profile
MediGene 95 Unlock Company Profile
Intima Bioscience 93 Unlock Company Profile
Immunovative Therapies 90 Unlock Company Profile
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres 85 Unlock Company Profile
Amgen 85 Unlock Company Profile
Gracell Biotechnologies 84 Unlock Company Profile
Nkarta 82 Unlock Company Profile
Adicet Bio 81 Unlock Company Profile
The United States Of America 79 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Immatics is one of the leading patent filers in cancer CAR-T receptors. Immatics is a biopharmaceutical company that has been involved in the development of CAR-T cell therapies targeting specific cancer antigens. Immatics' CAR-T therapies are based on T-cell receptors (TCRs), which are different from traditional CARs. The company has a pipeline of TCR-based therapies in development. In 2022, Immatics and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) expanded their strategic alliance to pursue the development of multiple allogeneic off-the-shelf TCR-T and/or CAR-T programs. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center are some of the other key patent filers in cancer CAR-T receptors.

In terms of application diversity, Celularity leads the pack, while Iovance Biotherapeutics and Intima Bioscience stood in the second and third positions, respectively.

By means of geographic reach, Immunovative Therapies held the top position, followed by Immatics and Novartis.

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.