Who are the leading innovators in T-cell culturing for the pharmaceutical industry?

MEEFRO June 5, 2023

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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 Immuno-oncology in Pharmaceuticals: T-cell culturing.

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.

T-cell culturing is a key innovation area in immuno-oncology

Optimised culture conditions for T-cell expansion are elusive, as many different factors contribute to the eventual outcome. T-cell stimulation and co-stimulation methods, different cytokines, growth media and serum, oxygen concentration, ambient pH, initial seeding density, and a static or dynamic culture are all factors that influence the outcome of T-cell expansion. To generate polyclonal T-cells, resting T-cells must first be activated with primary and secondary signals from CD3 and CD28 stimulation, respectively. Activation of T-cells can be achieved using an anti-CD3 antibody (OKT3) and irradiated feeder cells. However, a more accessible strategy for activating T-cells is by adding small magnetic beads coated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies. Proliferation of T-cells requires growth factors supplied by the medium and serum. One of the growth factors is interleukin-2 (IL-2), which by binding to its receptor, promotes polyclonal proliferation of T-cells by binding to its cell surface receptor.

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 200+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established pharmaceutical companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of T-cell culturing.

Key players in T-cell culturing – 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’.

Patent volumes related to T-cell culturing

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Immatics is the leading patent filer in T-cell culturing. Immatics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of T-cell immunotherapies to treat cancer. Immatics is headquartered in Tuebingen, Germany. Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb are the other key patent filers in T-cell culturing.

In terms of application diversity, Marengo Therapeutics is the top company, followed by iCell Gene Therapeutics and Cogent Biosciences. By means of geographic reach, Otsuka Holdings holds the top position. Whilst Seattle Children’s Hospital and Qurgen stand in 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 Immuno-Oncology – Thematic Research.