Pharma patent filings rise at EPO amid pandemic
Patent applications in Europe reached record levels during 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by the European Patent Office (EPO).
The EPO’s Patent Index, published today, April 5, recorded an uptick in patent applications in the field of pharmaceuticals, which grew by 6.9% in 2021 from 8,446 applications in 2020 to 9,026 applications.
The US remained in the lead of pharma filings with an overall share of 40% (3,582 applications), trailed by EPO member states in the EU that accounted for 39% of pharmaceutical patent filings. Germany also retained its position as the leading country of origin in Europe, with an overall share of 7%.
Switzerland and the previous year's growth champion France were not far behind, at 5% each.
French connection
The slight decline in the absolute number of patent applications from EPO member states which stood at 3,515 applications— a drop of 1.2% compared to 2020— was due mainly to the marked dip of 18.4% in applications from France compared to the previous year.
This slump reversed gains made by French companies in 2020 as the public research organisation INSERM dropped from first place to third among the field's top applicants. Meanwhile,Germany also saw a year-on-year decline of 4%.
Growth champions among the top EPO member states of 2021 included the UK, which recorded a rise of 11.9%, with a 4% share of overall filings in the field as the UK-based pharma company, GlaxoSmithKline, entered the top ten applicants.
Worldwide, Japan saw massive growth, with a rise of 27.2%, compared to 2020.
COVID-19 effects
But the EPO noted that the combined number of patent applications from its top ten applicants amounts to just 8% of the grand total for the field. That is because the field's innovation ecosystems rely heavily on numerous small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as universities and public research organisations (PROs), from which many patent-active start-ups are spun off.
The massive effort prompted by the pandemic resulted in the development of COVID-19 vaccines based on various technology platforms
But the report also noted that rapid and strong increase in patenting activity as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic may only become apparent in the next couple of years, as European patent applications are generally first published around 18 months after filing.
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