The pharmaceutical industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is 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 136,000 patents filed and granted in the pharmaceutical industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Genomics in pharma: genetic engineered T-cells. Buy the report here.

Smarter leaders trust GlobalData

Data Insights Innovation in Pharmaceuticals: Genetically modified T-cells

Buy the Report

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

Amgen Inc

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Genscript Biotech Corp

Cellectis SA

Caribou Biosciences Inc

View all

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.

Genetically modified T-cells is a key innovation area in genomics

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 250+ 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 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 genetically modified T-cells

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, Pact Pharma is the top patent filer, followed by Shanghai Unicar-Therapy Bio-Medicine and Novartis.

By means of geographic reach, Caribou Biosciences holds the top position, while Immatics and CytoImmune Therapeutics 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 Genomics.

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.