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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/bacterial-chassis-cofactor-engineering-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Bacterial Chassis Cofactor EngineeringBacterial chassis cofactor engineering patents: who holds the redox balance claims
- 34.8% concentration at the top. The five leading assignees account for 64 of 184 records in scope, while the ranked list runs 85 companies deep with a long single-filing tail below them.
- Filing momentum is real, not flat. From 2021 to 2024 — the last year publication lag lets us call complete — filings rose from 7 to 12, a 71% increase, after peaking at 25 in 2020.
- C12N dominates, but the interesting overlap is elsewhere. 95.7% of records sit in C12N, yet A23L (foods) and G01N (material analysis) each carry a meaningful minority share, pointing to where cofactor engineering is being repurposed.
184
Published Records
35%
Top-5 Share of All Records
+71%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (7 records) with 2024 (12) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 184 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks patent filings on engineered or recombinant bacterial hosts where the claimed invention turns on cofactor management — NADH/NADPH balance, redox ratio control, cofactor recycling, electron transfer pathways or cellular energy charge. It sits at the intersection of synthetic biology chassis design and metabolic engineering, rather than covering bacterial engineering broadly. The scope spans 2015 through the 2026-07-31 data cut-off, with 184 published records classified under IPC codes for genetic engineering, microorganism handling and enzymatic/DNA measurement.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend understate real filing activity — that effect, not a genuine slowdown, is the likely explanation for lower counts near the data cut-off.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015–2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bacterial Chassis Cofactor Engineering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Data
Filing trends and technology composition
The filing curve and the IPC breakdown together show a field that grew quickly after 2017, peaked in 2020, and has kept a broad base in core microorganism engineering classes while pushing into adjacent application areas.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings rose from 5 in 2017 to a peak of 25 in 2020, dipped, then climbed again from 7 in 2021 to 12 in 2024 — a 71% increase over that span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in due to publication lag and should not be read as a decline.
IPC subclass composition
C12N (microorganisms & genetic engineering) appears in 95.7% of the 184 records, confirming this is fundamentally a genetic-engineering corpus. C12P (fermentation) and C07K (peptides & proteins) each cover close to half the records, while A61K (medicinal preparations) at 26.1% and A23L (foods) at 14.1% mark where cofactor-engineered chassis are being aimed at therapeutic and food applications rather than pure production strains.
Shares are the percentage of the 184 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bacterial Chassis Cofactor Engineering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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Most-cited records and a recent representative filing
Representative recent filing
WO2025242871A1 — Genetically engineered bacterium as a platform for reductive whole-cell biocatalysis
MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V.
The application claims a genetically engineered bacterium built around deletion of the ndh gene, one or more nuo genes (from the nuoA–nuoN set), the ldhA gene, and preferably mqo, combined with endogenous biosynthesis of a quinone species (preferably ubiquinone) and expression of ubiquinol/quinol oxidases. The combination is designed to redirect electron flow and proton-motive force generation for reductive whole-cell biocatalysis.Filed by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V., published 2025-11-27.
Highest-cited records in scope
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5789199A | Process for bacterial production of polypeptides | 2,622 |
| 2 | WO2009036095A1 | Engineered light-harvesting organisms | 86 |
| 3 | US20160206666A1 | Bacteria engineered to treat diseases that benefit from reduced gut inflammation and/or tighten gut mucosal b… | 80 |
| 4 | US20080050774A1 | Bacillus licheniformis chromosome | 67 |
| 5 | WO2016210373A2 | Recombinant bacteria engineered for biosafety, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of use thereof | 64 |
| 6 | US5342763A | Method for producing polypeptide via bacterial fermentation | 64 |
| 7 | WO2002070645A2 | Functional surface display of polypeptides | 57 |
| 8 | US9688967B2 | Bacteria engineered to treat diseases associated with hyperammonemia | 44 |
| 9 | US5633165A | Fermentor with vertical shaft | 43 |
| 10 | US7494798B2 | <i>Bacillus licheniformis </i>chromosome | 38 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations within the searched corpus — treat this table as a map of influence, not of current importance. US5789199A's citation count in particular reflects decades of foundational reach into bacterial polypeptide production, well outside this landscape's 2015+ filing window.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bacterial Chassis Cofactor Engineering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers mean for a filing strategy
Three patterns stand out once the ranking, the trend and the IPC mix are read together: concentration without total lock-up, growth that predates the visible peak, and technology overlap that opens routes outside the crowded core classes.
Concentration
34.8% / 55.4%
share of 184 records held by top 5 / top 10
The top of the field is dense, the rest is open
The five leading assignees hold 34.8% of all 184 records, and the top ten hold 55.4%. That leaves 85 ranked companies sharing the remainder, with most holding only a handful of families each — a long tail rather than a duopoly.
Ranked list: 85 assignees, leader at 20 records, tenth place at 6.
Momentum
+71%
filing growth, 2021 to 2024
Growth resumed after the 2020 peak
Filings peaked at 25 in 2020, then fell before rebuilding from 7 in 2021 to 12 in 2024. Because publication lag understates 2025–2026, the true recent trajectory is likely stronger than the raw counts show.
2024 is the last year treated as filing-complete.
Technology mix
45.7% / 44.6%
share in C12P (fermentation) and C07K (peptides)
Fermentation and protein claims run neck and neck
C12P and C07K each cover close to half of the 184 records, close enough that neither dominates the other — a sign that cofactor claims are drafted as much around protein/enzyme design as around fermentation process steps.
Class shares overlap because records carry multiple IPC codes.
Application spread
26.1% / 14.1%
share in A61K (medicinal) and A23L (foods)
Redox engineering is leaving pure production strains
A quarter of records touch medicinal preparations and a further 14.1% touch food applications, indicating cofactor-balanced chassis are increasingly claimed for therapeutic delivery bacteria and food-grade fermentation, not only industrial biocatalysis.
A23L and A61K shares are each measured against all 184 records.
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to bacterial chassis cofactor engineering, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bacterial Chassis Cofactor Engineering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked leaders combine large industrial and pharmaceutical filers with academic and research-institute assignees; several of the most active names show no filings in the latest tracked year, consistent with the field cycling through filing waves rather than sustaining a constant pace.
Leader
20
records for the top-ranked assignee
A single leader well ahead of fifth place
The top-ranked assignee holds 20 records against 9 for the fifth-place assignee, a gap wide enough to suggest a deliberate, sustained filing programme rather than opportunistic patenting.
Fifth place: 9 records; tenth place: 6 records.
Long tail
85
assignees in the ranked list
Fragmentation below the top ten
With 85 companies in the ranking and the top ten holding just over half of all records, most assignees below that line are likely single-family filers — academic groups, spin-outs or opportunistic filings rather than programmatic portfolios.
Top 10 combined: 102 of 184 records (55.4%).
Momentum shift
0 in latest year
for several previously active assignees
Recent-year activity has gone quiet for known filers
Multiple assignees that built meaningful portfolios earlier in the window show zero filings in the latest tracked year, some down from prior activity by the full YoY amount. Given publication lag, this may reflect filings still working through the pipeline rather than exit from the space.
Recent-year momentum is measured against each assignee's own prior-year count.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Genentech Inc | 0 | — |
| Manus Bio Inc | 0 | -100% |
| Max Planck Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Wissenschaften eV | 0 | -100% |
| Deinove SA | 0 | — |
| Synlogic Operating Co Inc | 0 | — |
| Novozymes AS | 0 | — |
| University of Dundee | 0 | — |
| The General Hospital Corp | 0 | -100% |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bacterial Chassis Cofactor Engineering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next questions rather than a single conclusion — whether the leader's portfolio blocks a particular chassis design, and whether the under-claimed branches hold up once checked against full claim text.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading portfolio
The top-ranked assignee's 20 records are worth reviewing claim-by-claim before committing to a chassis design in the same core pathway family.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaStress-test the under-claimed branches
Gate areas like NADPH-specific recycling in food-grade strains look open at the IPC-composition level, but only full-text claim review confirms whether that holds.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack the co-filing clusters
The strongest co-assignee pairs in this dataset point to specific research teams whose joint filings are worth monitoring as the field's next wave publishes through the pipeline.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bacterial Chassis Cofactor Engineering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions on bacterial chassis cofactor engineering patents
It is a filing on an engineered or recombinant bacterial host where the claimed invention specifically manipulates cofactor dynamics — NADH/NADPH balance, redox ratio, cofactor recycling, electron transfer, or cellular energy charge — rather than bacterial engineering in general. In this dataset that scope is defined by combining host-cell and cofactor-related search terms with IPC classes for genetic engineering (C12N15/09), microorganism handling (C12N1/20) and enzyme/DNA measurement (C12Q1/68). A strain patent that only mentions yield improvement without a cofactor-specific mechanism would fall outside this scope.
The ranked list covers 85 assignees, with the top-ranked filer holding 20 records against 9 for the fifth-place assignee and 6 for tenth place. Filers span large industrial and pharmaceutical companies alongside universities and research institutes, and the top five combined account for 34.8% of all 184 records in scope. Below the top ten, most assignees hold only a handful of families each, so the field is concentrated at the top but not dominated by any single company.
Filings grew from 7 in 2021 to 12 in 2024, a 71% increase, after an earlier peak of 25 in 2020. Because patent publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the lower counts visible in 2025 and 2026 reflect that lag rather than an actual slowdown. Reading the 2021–2024 window is the more reliable way to judge current momentum.
The IPC composition shows heavy concentration in core genetic-engineering classes (C12N at 95.7% of 184 records) alongside fermentation and protein claims, but comparatively thinner coverage in specific combinations such as NADPH-specific recycling tuned for food-grade strains, or electron-transfer rewiring paired explicitly with proton-motive-force generation for biocatalysis. These are candidate areas for new filings, though a full claim-text freedom-to-operate check is needed before treating any of them as confirmed open space.
WO2025242871A1, filed by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. and published 2025-11-27, claims a bacterium with deletions across the ndh gene, one or more nuo genes, and ldhA (preferably also mqo), combined with endogenous ubiquinone biosynthesis and expression of ubiquinol or quinol oxidases. The combination is aimed at reductive whole-cell biocatalysis by redirecting electron flow and proton-motive force. Anyone designing a similar multi-gene-deletion chassis for reductive biocatalysis should review this filing's exact claim scope closely.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bacterial Chassis Cofactor Engineering covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.