The Technology Landscape of Precision Medicine: An IP Analysis

IP analysis enables companies to create a technology landscape of their specific market sectors, from innovation hotspots to major industry players. Using Questel’s IP landscaping tools, Senior Business Intelligence Consultant Steven Nindorera-Badara examines key technologies and forces at work in precision medicine, notably new entrants from associated technological spheres. 

What is Precision Medicine? 

Precision medicine (also referred to as personalized or individualized medicine) is an approach to disease treatment and prevention that takes into account individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle to design targeted and adaptive treatments and/or patient-specific support strategies.

Its emergence is closely linked to advances in diagnostic technologies, informatics, and a deeper understanding of genomic and proteomic interactions.

Precision medicine leverages highly accurate and in-depth diagnostic tools, including DNA sequencing and medical imaging, and often relies on advanced computational tools to interpret complex datasets. These developments have enabled the identification of biomarkers, which in turn support the design and development of tailored therapeutic interventions aimed at influencing physiopathological mechanisms associated with specific diseases (see Figure 1).

The main application areas include oncology / pediatric oncology, pharmacogenomics, inherited genetic disorders, as well as disease prognosis and prevention.

The integration of new technologies and approaches has created new markets and led to the emergence of new players across the healthcare industry. By mapping the field’s technology landscape through IP analysis, it is possible to generate a clear and comprehensive view of the technological environment, while also delivering powerful business intelligence and identifying key insights into the competitive and innovation forces at play.

Charting the Technology Landscape of Precision Medicine: Trends and Targeted Applications

IP filing dynamics reveal that precision medicine technologies were already in place at the turn of the 21st century (Figure 2).

More than 2,000 patent applications were filed in 2003, mostly related to diagnostic/prognosis methods (75% of patent applications – see Figure 3).

After a stable period (2003-2010), we observed a boom in precision medicine innovations, with an increase of patent filings to more than 6,6K patent families in 2020, and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% from 2010–2020. Over this period, the proportion of inventions related to tailored therapy increased, while the share of prognostic and diagnostic methods declined, accounting for less than 50% of patent filings in 2022.

Over time, oncology has remained the primary target application area, representing approximately 34% to 51% of published inventions claiming applications related to cancer. The main disclosed innovations focused on:

• Screening and identifying tumor biomarkers
• Profiling tumors to detect cancer driver variants and understand tumor heterogeneity
• Developing targeted therapies designed to act specifically on identified molecular features

These therapies include cell-based therapies (such as CAR-T cells), immunotherapies (including antibodies and related variants), and small molecules targeting specific molecular pathways.

Patent filings related to AI-based technologies began to rise significantly around 2015, reaching approximately 20% of all patent applications filed in 2022 (see Figure 2). These innovations are mainly associated with diagnostic and prognostic systems or devices, and cover a broad range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, mental health disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and rare diseases.

Technology Landscape of Precision Medicine: From Well-known Specialists to Big Tech

An analysis of the largest patent holders in the field gives an indication into the main players and driving forces (Figure 4).

As is the case in the medical industry in general, large pharmaceutical companies and research institutes are the main actors in the field. Of the Among the top 25 assignees, 21 are large pharmaceutical companies and universities/research institutes, highlighting the dominant role of established life sciences actors in the field.

Interestingly, the growing importance of technology-driven innovation (hardware and software) in precision medicine is also reflected in the presence of major technology corporations among key players, with Philips ranked second, IBM fifth, and Samsung nineteenth.

These companies have played a significant role in the development of diagnostic and prognostic technologies, including DNA sequencing systems, data analytics platforms, and clinical decision-support and patient monitoring tools, all of which are essential for delivering personalized healthcare. For example:

• Philips has developed diagnostic and monitoring systems for multiple applications, including cancer prognosis (EP3303616), antibiotic resistance (EP3426799), and cardiovascular disorders (EP3673493).
• IBM has developed AI-based systems designed to predict drug and food interactions and support medical risk assessment (US10892057).

A deeper, macroscopic analysis of patent data provides further insight into the key technological domains of precision medicine, the target applications, and the main industry players involved.

Such granular segmentation is essential for in-depth analysis and must be conducted according to either the technological domain of interest (e.g., immunology, diagnostic technologies, AI-based systems) and/or the targeted therapeutic area (e.g., rare diseases, neurological disorders, solid tumors, etc.).

By combining patent data with additional external sources, Questel’s IP consulting and business intelligence experts can deliver actionable insights for clients and partners, including:

• Advanced technological mapping and white space analysis to support R&D strategy and product development
• Competitive intelligence reports to inform due diligence and business development decisions
• Strategic insights to support IP roadmap definition, IP valuation, as well as out-licensing and technology transfer opportunities

Contact our specialist IP Consulting team to find out more about what IP analysis can reveal about your industry’s technology landscape, from innovation white spaces to competitor activity, IP value, licensing, and technological transfer.

Steven Nindorera-Badara is a Business Intelligence Senior Consultant at Questel.