More growth in pharma and biotech patent filing activity
Withers & Rogers shares insights about the latest European patent filing data and innovation activity by pharmaceuticals and biotech firms
The latest report on patent filing activity in Europe reveals that, once again, innovators in the pharmaceuticals and biotech sectors are key drivers of growth.
The total number of patent applications made to the European Patent Office in 2021 reached 188,600, which is 4.5% up on the previous year. The leading field of technology was digital communication, narrowly overtaking medical technology. European patent filing activity originating from pharmaceuticals and biotech businesses grew by 6.9% and 6.6% respectively. These figures indicate heightened interest in the area of vaccines and other areas of healthcare.
From a UK perspective, the Patent Index Report 2021 shows that pharmaceuticals and biotechnology remained a strong focus of innovation activity. Cumulatively, UK-based innovators in these sectors were responsible for 669 European patent applications in 2021, more than any other field of research and development activity.
It’s not all good news from a UK perspective, however. Overall, the volume of patent applications filed by UK businesses in Europe fell slightly for the second year in a row in 2021, in part due to a pandemic-related hangover in R&D activity affecting some industry sectors more than others.
The pandemic has continued to have a considerable impact on the performance of many businesses over the past year. For some this has resulted in a slowdown or pause in innovation activity. However, for UK-based businesses in sectors such as consumer goods, medtech, computer technologies, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and transport, innovation activity has remained strong. Crucially, the UK’s share of European patent filings has remained at 3%.
From a global perspective, the growth in patent filings made to the EPO in 2021 is further indication that global economies have been enjoying a post-pandemic recovery, despite many sectors being affected by ongoing supply chain disruption. Much of the growth was fuelled by filings from China (+24%) and the US (+5.2%). Patent filings from Chinese companies, in particular, have quadrupled in the past decade and it is worth exploring some of the reasons why.
China has excelled in terms of its approach to sponsoring innovation activity in recent years and the country has gained the respect of investors and businesses in the West. The Chinese Government’s focus on promoting the importance of intellectual property rights has created a platform for enterprise that has led to the emergence of some highly successful entrepreneurial businesses.
There is an opportunity to mirror this success here in the UK, if greater focus is given to incentivising R&D activity and promoting the benefits of intellectual property ownership. It is significant that one in five patent applications made to the EPO by European businesses came from individual inventors or small and medium-sized businesses (with fewer than 250 employees). More innovation incentives targeted at this level could help to drive economic growth.
The UK Government has confirmed its vision to make the UK a global hub for innovation by 2035 but to achieve this, much more focus will need to be given to sponsoring innovation activity through bodies such as Innovate UK and supporting new research led initiatives.
Dr Joanna Thurston is a partner and patent attorney at European intellectual property firm, Withers & Rogers LLP
