Investigation of Nanopore Sequencing Industry Prospects by Patent Search

Nanopore sequencing (Nanopore sequencing) is a sequencing technology for nucleic acid (RNA and DNA). It uses nanopores (nanopore) to measure the sequence of nucleic acid, and realizes sequence determination through conductivity change or ion flow. Unlike traditional sequencing technology, nanopore sequencing does not need to divide DNA or RNA molecules into small fragments, but completes sequencing by passing the whole molecule through nanopores.

Nanopore sequencing is mainly to electrophoretically pass nucleic acids through a diameter of about1 nanometer nanopore, the nanopore is usually made of protein or solid materials. As nucleic acid molecules are guided through the pore, nucleic acid molecules will interfere with the conductivity or ion flow in the pore due to the narrow pore size of the nanopore. The changes of these current signals can be detected and recorded, and converted into corresponding sequence information through algorithm analysis, making it widely used in scientific research and clinical diagnosis.

Observing the application status of patents related to nanopore sequencing can predict the development trend of the industry. The author searches the five major patent public patent databases.(China, the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea), obtained the status of applications for nanopore sequencing related patents. This paper focuses on three main observations:(1) changes in the patent application trend of nanopore sequencing-related patents in the past 20 years;(2) the top 10 patentees of nanopore sequencing-related patents;(3) changes in the patent application trend of nanopore sequencing-related patents in the five major patent open patent databases in the past 20 years.

First, observe application trends, statisticsThe number of patent applications for a total of 20 years from 2002 to 2021 found that the number of patent applications related to nanopore sequencing was not significant before 2011, but it has shown an upward trend year by year since 2012, which shows that more and more patent applicants are actively investing in the patent layout of nanopore sequencing.

In addition, before applying for a patent related to nanopore sequencing.Of the top 10 patentees, California Pacific Bioscience Co., Ltd. occupies the leading position, with 36 patent applications, followed by Harvard University Presidents and Fellows Association, followed by 33 patent applications, followed by Roche Sequencing Solutions Co., Ltd. and Oxford Nanopore Technology Co., Ltd. respectively occupy 29 patent applications. It can be seen that the main patentees in this technical field are mainly overseas enterprises.

The author tries to cross-analyze the near.20 years of changes in patent application trends, combined with the distribution of the five major patent disclosure patent databases (China, the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea), found that since 2018, the number of applications in China has shown a sharp upward trend, in 2021 It surpassed the United States in one fell swoop to become the country with the largest number of nanopore sequencing-related patent applications. It can be seen that many patent applicants are actively deploying the Chinese market.

In summary, the number of applications for nanopore sequencing-related patents in various countries is currently increasing year by year. However, the main patentees are still dominated by overseas patentees, but the number of applications in China has increased rapidly, and it may be stable in this technology field in the future. The country with the largest number of patent applications shows that more and more patent applicants are aware of the importance of deploying nanopore sequencing-related patents in China.