Textiles & Coatings

A synthetic biology perspective

A subset of SynBio - textiles & coatings related patents were identified during the hybrid topic modelling stage applied to SynBio EPO patents. The publication year trends are shown in figure 14.1, together with the subset related to enzyme based patents within the textiles & coatings topic. Publication trends discussed below are based on EP A1/A2 applications.

In figure 14.1, the peak publication figures for SynBio textiles & coatings occurred in 2023 (182 publications), with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4% during 2014-2023. The textiles & coatings subset related to biochemical treatment e.g. enzymatic also peaked in 2023 (73 publications) with a CAGR of 8.2% during 2014-2023. The biochemical treatment related subset accounted for 37% of the total textiles & coatings topic publications during 2004-2023. The recent evidence suggests solid recent growth amongst SynBio textiles & coatings related publications.

The INPADOC legal status breakdown of the SynBio textiles & coatings subset published during 2014-2023 is shown in figure 14.2.

The INPADOC based legal status stats in figure 14.2 revealed approx. 44% of patents are pending with approx. 29% already granted, reflecting an established and growing field. The legal status data suggests the topic has a large proportion of alive patents (73%) and the relatively high pending proportion (44%) indicates the potential for further growth.

The filing trends for the SynBio textiles & coatings subset and subtrend areas are shown in figure 14.3. 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 14.3, the peak filing figures for SynBio textiles & coatings occurred in 2021 (165 filings), with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9% during 2012-2021 (most recent 10 year period analysed). The textiles & coatings subset related to biochemical treatment e.g. enzymatic also peaked in 2021 (70 filings) with a CAGR of 6.4% during 2012-2021. The recent evidence suggests solid growth amongst SynBio textiles & coatings related filings.

The distribution of top 20 CPC classification codes is skewed towards biochemical treatment of fibres, threads, fabrics, etc. e.g. enzymatic treatment (D06M16/00) which is almost double the size of the next classification area in figure 14.4. Materials and coatings for grafts and prosthesis, etc. are quite prominent throughout the top 20 CPC classification codes. The class descriptors have been manually refined for readability, the counts are cumulative publications and publication year based.

Many of the top 20 CPC classifications have peaked in 2023, biochemical treatment of fibres, threads, etc. e.g. enzymatic grew at 25.2% CAGR, with a 15.2% increase year-on-year in 2023, all of which provides evidence for strong and sustained growth. Another large classification area ranked second and related to materials for prosthesis or grafts which are biologically active (A61L27/54) increased by 14.4% CAGR during 2014-23.

Growing areas within SynBio - textiles & coatings: compound annual growth rate (CAGR)

The SynBio textiles & coatings related CPC classifications were further investigated to identify areas with a positive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to identify trending areas, shown in figure 14.5. The selected classes have a cumulative total above 50 publications (due to the number of candidates) during the publication period and are relevant for SynBio subject matter.

When analysing the classification areas in figure 14.5 for the textiles & coatings topic published during 2014-23, there are fast growing areas related to antimicrobials and cleaning compositions involving textiles. Textiles and coatings used in biopackaging are growing at 31.2% CAGR and the use of cellulose and polyesters is above 20% CAGR. Peptides from spiders is growing at 13% CAGR, a niche area. Nanoparticles used within coatings and textiles such as nano-sized materials, is growing at 18.2% CAGR during 2014-23. Notable patent examples within the classes identified in figure 14.5 and using citing patent counts, top assignees, etc. include:

EP3747901A1 (MODERN MEADOW) disclosing a biofabricated material containing a network of crosslinked collagen fibrils used as a biofabricated leather material. EP3805448A1 (LIVINGUARD) disclosing textiles with antimicrobial properties. EP4045425 (PROCTOR & GAMBLE) disclosing a biodegradable and/or compostable sachet made from film comprising cellulose, etc. EP3495381A1 (AMSILK) disclosing the coating of an inert or naturally occurring material with a silk polypeptide. EP3973992A2 (BOLT THREADS) disclosing the recombinant production of improved silk fibres. EP3594384 (SPIBER) disclosing the manufacturing of a protein fibre which could be spider silk fibroin. EP3498267A1 (CUREVAC) disclosing medical devices coated with nucleic acid containing nanoparticles.

Growing areas within SynBio - textiles & coatings: average growth rate

The average number of publications during two 5 year publication periods; 2014-18 & 2019-23 are contrasted in figure 14.6. The CPC classification codes within the textiles & coatings topic, related to SynBio and with sufficient publication totals are analysed.

The biochemical treatment of fibres, fabrics and the like using enzymatic treatment etc. increased by 37.1% to 48 publications on average per year during 2019-23. The growth of medical related applications such as graft and prosthesis coatings is notable, plus biopackaging at 15 publications on average per year during 2019-23. Peptides from spiders (spider silk) has more than doubled and represents a specific niche at 9 publications on average per year during 2019-23.

SynBio - textiles & coatings: top 30 applicants

The total number of publications for the top 30 SynBio textiles & coatings related applicants are shown in figure 14.7, contrasting the overall publication period (2004-23) with a more recent perspective during 2014-2023.