Who are the leading innovators in lactobacilli-based probiotics for the pharmaceutical industry?

The pharmaceutical industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity 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 633,000 patents filed and granted in the pharmaceutical industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Environmental Sustainability in Pharmaceuticals: Lactobacilli-based probiotics.

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 756,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the pharmaceutical industry, there are 110 innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.

Lactobacilli-based probiotics is a key innovation area in environmental sustainability

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts, found in yogurt and other food supplements that provide health benefits when ingested or applied to the body. Probiotics help to restore the natural composition of beneficial microbes in the gut.

Probiotics contain different types of microorganisms. The most common probiotics belong to the Lactobacillus group, which is a group of rod-shaped, gram-positive, non-spore-forming bacteria.

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 130+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of lactobacilli-based probiotics.

Key players in lactobacilli-based probiotics – a disruptive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.

Nestle is the leading patent filer of lactobacilli-based probiotics. The company is currently developing lactobacillus-based weight management products. Symrise and Danone are the other key patent filers of lactobacilli-based probiotics.

In terms of application diversity, Iams is the top company, followed by Kerry Group and Novo Nordisk Foundation. By means of geographic reach, Anheuser-Busch InBev holds the top position, followed by SOFAR and SPMD in the 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 Pharmaceutical.