Drug Delivery & Targeting e.g. Nanoparticles

A synthetic biology perspective

A subset of SynBio - drug delivery & targeting e.g. nanoparticles related patents were identified during the hybrid topic modelling stage applied to SynBio EPO patents. The publication year trends are shown in figure 12.1, together with the subset related to antibody based patents within the drug delivery & targeting topic. Publication trends discussed below are based on EP A1/A2 applications.

In figure 12.1, the peak publication figures for SynBio drug delivery & targeting occurred in 2023 (1182 publications), with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.8%. The drug delivery & targeting subset related to antibodies also peaked in 2023 (651 publications) with a CAGR of 15.6%. The antibody related subset accounted for 40.9% of the drug delivery & targeting topic publications during 2004-2023. The recent evidence suggests strong growth amongst SynBio drug delivery & targeting related publications.

The INPADOC legal status breakdown of the SynBio drug delivery & targeting e.g. nanoparticles subset published during 2014-2023 is shown in figure 12.2.

The INPADOC based legal status stats in figure 12.2 revealed approx. 54% of patents are pending with approx. 25% already granted, reflecting an established and growing field. The legal status data suggests the topic has a large proportion of alive patents (79%) and the high pending proportion (54%) indicates the potential for further growth.

Publication year subtrends

The publication trends for further subtopic areas within the drug delivery and targeting topic were investigated; fusion proteins, vaccine related, antibody drug conjugates and immunotherapy, shown in figure 12.3.

During 2014-23, the subtrends in figure 12.3 reveal how drug delivery and targeting subtopic areas such as fusion proteins have grown at 15.9% CAGR, vaccine related at 18.1% CAGR, antibody drug conjugates at 14.5% CAGR and immunotherapy at 20.7% CAGR. In particular drug delivery and targeting for vaccine related publications recorded 98% growth year-on-year in 2023. The strong growth in the subtopic areas has significantly contributed to the overall growth occurring in SynBio drug delivery & targeting.

The filing trends for the SynBio drug delivery & targeting e.g. nanoparticles subset and subtrend areas are shown in figure 12.4. Here we explore the filing or application date of published applications, data is restricted to 2021 due to the potential for an 18 month delay between filing and publication.

In figure 12.4, there exists increasing trendlines for SynBio drug delivery and subtrend areas. The drug delivery and targeting overall trend grew at 7.5% CAGR during 2012-2021. The vaccine related filings increased by 97% year-on-year in 2021, potentially driven by the surge in vaccine (drug delivery & targeting) patenting activity in response to COVID-19.

In figure 12.5, the top 20 CPC classification distribution is heavily influenced by antineoplastic agents, drug peptides & conjugates, antibody & nucleic acid related medicinals plus the use of nanoparticles and nanobiotechnology. The class descriptors are manually refined for readability, the counts are cumulative publications and publication year based.

The treatment of cancer via antineoplastic agents has more than doubled since 2014 when contrasting with 2023 publication figures. The classification area is both the largest classification code identified and largest publication total in 2023 with 424 publications. The nanocapsule / nanoparticle classification code (A61K9/51) peaked in 2023 with a CAGR of 9.6% during 2014-2023, the nanobiotechnology for protein engineering or drug delivery peaked recently in 2021 with 230 publications, representing growing areas of innovation. The drug peptide / conjugate classification codes A61K47/64 & A61K47/6803 have also peaked recently. Liposomes (A61K9/127) peaked in 2023 (177 publications) with growth at 10.7% CAGR during 2014-23. The diversity of drug delivery & targeting classifications contributes to the overall growth of the identified topic.

Growing areas within SynBio - drug delivery & targeting e.g. nanoparticles: compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

The SynBio drug delivery & targeting related CPC classifications were further investigated to identify areas with a positive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to identify trending areas, shown in figure 12.6. The selected classes have a cumulative total above 150 publications (due to the number of candidates) during the publication period and are relevant for SynBio subject matter.

In figure 12.6, the fastest growing classification code identified was related to the use of Coronaviridae as a vaccine, growing at nearly 70% CAGR during 2014-23 which has also contributed to the growth of genetic engineering of viral vectors growing at 36% CAGR. The influence of immunotherapy is exemplified by medicinals for cellular immunotherapy growing at 32.1% CAGR. Gene therapy related medicinals have grown at 27% CAGR requiring precise drug delivery and targeting. Nanoparticle and liposome related classifications have grown in the range of 15.3% & 18.8% CAGR, important for vaccines and to protect antigen cargo.

Growing areas within SynBio - drug delivery & targeting e.g. nanoparticles: average growth rate

The average number of publications during the two 5 year publication periods; 2014-18 & 2019-23 are contrasted in figure 12.7. The CPC classification codes within the drug delivery & targeting topic, related to SynBio and with sufficient publication totals are analysed.

In figure 12.7, anti-cancer treatment using antineoplastic agents (A61P35/00) grew significantly to 455 publications on average per year during 2019-2023. The importance of nanotechnology via liposomes, nanoparticles, etc. is indicated by the growth of several class areas such as B82Y5/00, rising to 207 publications on average per year, Liposomes to 144 publications on average per year and nanoparticles/nanocapsules to 112 publications on average per year during 2019-23. A niche liposome/nanoparticle area includes pegylated liposomes (A61K9/1271) which doubled to 60 publications on average per year during 2019-23. The delivery of antibodies (170 publications on average per year) and drug peptides (265 publications on average per year) are key therapeutics for drug delivery, experiencing strong growth during 2019-2023.

SynBio - drug delivery & targeting e.g. nanoparticles: top 30 applicants

The total number of publications for the top 30 SynBio drug delivery & targeting e.g. nanoparticles related applicants are shown in figure 12.8, contrasting the overall publication period (2004-23) with a more recent perspective during 2014-2023.