Chassis Organism Engineering Patents: Who Leads, Gaps 2026
- 80.8% concentration. The top 5 of 49 ranked assignees hold 101 of the 125 records in scope — this field is claimed by a small group, not a broad field of entrants.
- Filing peaked in 2017. At 15 records, then declined; the 2021→2024 span shows a complete, comparable -80% drop that a reader should weigh before assuming renewed momentum.
- C12N dominates at 93.6%. Fermentation (C12P, 40.8%) and microorganism indexing (C12R, 36.0%) are the two branches layered on top of core genetic-engineering claims.
Filing growth compares 2021 (5 records) with 2024 (1) — 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 125 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What chassis organism engineering patents actually cover
Chassis organism engineering spans the design of host cells and microbial strains — reduced-genome bacteria, non-model hosts, and engineered chassis selected for genetic tractability, transformation efficiency and predictable metabolic capacity. The search underlying this dataset combines chassis and genome-reduction terminology with the practical constraints that determine whether a chassis is usable at scale: growth-rate tradeoffs, tool portability across hosts, and phage resistance.
The 125 records in scope run from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off, with publication understood to lag filing by roughly 18 months — so the most recent one to two years in any trend chart are undercounted by construction, not because activity has stopped.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 125-record dataset: filings by year, and the IPC subclasses those filings carry. Because a single record can sit in several classes, the class shares below sum to well over 100% of the record total — that is expected and is the same denominator the chart uses.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings peaked at 15 in 2017. The comparable, complete span from 2021 (5) to 2024 (1) shows an -80% decline; 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in under the publication lag and should not be read as a continuation of that slope.
IPC subclass composition
C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) appears in 93.6% of the 125 records, the expected core class for this search. C12P (fermentation and enzymatic synthesis, 40.8%) and C12R (microorganism indexing, 36.0%) are the next-heaviest layers, with bioinformatics (G16B, 8.8%) and combinatorial libraries (C40B, 4.8%) marking smaller, more specialised branches.
Shares are the percentage of the 125 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Chassis Organism Engineering with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about chassis organism engineering and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records and a recent filing
A novel isolated Streptomyces strain and uses thereof (WO2025193160A1)
The present invention relates to a novel isolated Streptomyces strain, Streptomyces sungeiensis SD3 (Accession number DSM34917), its engineered version and their uses in producing secondary metabolites.Filed by Nanyang Technological University, published 2025-09-18 — illustrates the continued filing of strain-level chassis claims even as aggregate volumes decline.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6989265B2 | Bacteria with reduced genome | 60 |
| 2 | US20130029879A1 | Methods and Systems for Cell State Quantification | 51 |
| 3 | WO2003070880A2 | Bacteria with reduced genome | 40 |
| 4 | US7303906B2 | Competent bacteria | 35 |
| 5 | WO2013021261A2 | Methods and materials for recombinant production of saffron compounds | 33 |
| 6 | US20030138937A1 | Bacteria with reduced genome | 31 |
| 7 | US20060270043A1 | Bacteria with reduced genome | 29 |
| 8 | WO2005087940A1 | Genetically altered microorganisms with modified metabolism | 28 |
| 9 | WO2017185018A1 | Synthetic bacteria and methods of use | 26 |
| 10 | US20050032225A1 | Competent bacteria | 24 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings that have had more years to accumulate citations — read them as a signal of influence on the field, not as a ranking of current technical importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once the ranking, the trend and the IPC composition are read together.
A small group holds most of the claim territory
With the top 5 of 49 ranked assignees covering 101 of 125 records, most of the useful claim space in genome-reduced and non-model chassis work is already occupied by a handful of filers. New entrants are more likely to find open ground in adjacent application classes than in core chassis-construction claims.
Recent-complete years show a real pullback, not a plateau
The 2021-to-2024 span is the most recent window that can be treated as complete under the ~18-month publication lag, and it shows a genuine -80% drop rather than a flattening. Reading 2025-2026 as a further decline would be premature; those years are still filling in.
Fermentation and indexing classes ride on top of core chassis claims
Beyond the near-universal C12N core, the two next-heaviest classes — C12P fermentation at 40.8% and C12R microorganism indexing at 36.0% — show that most chassis claims are drafted alongside a specific downstream production or classification use, not as standalone host-organism claims.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to chassis organism engineering, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| POSFAI GYORGY | BLATTNER FREDERICK R | 5 |
| University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc. | WANG QINGZHAO | 3 |
| University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc. | SHANMUGAM KEELNATHAM T | 3 |
| University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc. | INGRAM LONNIE ONEAL | 3 |
| POSFAI GYORGY | HERRING CHRISTOPHER D | 3 |
| POSFAI GYORGY | GLASNER JEREMY D | 3 |
| BLATTNER FREDERICK R | HERRING CHRISTOPHER D | 3 |
| BLATTNER FREDERICK R | GLASNER JEREMY D | 3 |
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, the strongest being a single academic pairing at 5 shared records — collaboration is the exception, not the norm, in this field.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranking covers 49 assignees across all 125 records — it is the complete set the data endpoint returns, not a top-50 cut. Recent-year momentum across the leading names is flat, with the tracked leaders each showing zero filings in the latest year, consistent with the broader post-2017 decline and the publication lag on 2025-2026.
One assignee holds the largest single share
The leading assignee's 46 records sit well ahead of fifth place at 5, meaning the shape of this field is one dominant filer plus a fast-thinning tail rather than several evenly matched competitors.
Most named filers hold only one or two records
Once the top 10 (95.2% of all records) is accounted for, the remaining assignees split a small residual share, typically single filings — a pattern more consistent with academic spin-outs and one-off strain patents than sustained competitive filing programmes.
Filing is US-centred with a meaningful PCT and Australian presence
United States filings (32) lead, followed by WIPO/PCT (17) and Australia (15), with Europe (13), Israel (8) and Canada (6) rounding out the picture — a filing footprint that favours US prosecution first with selective international extension.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation | 0 | — |
| University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Synthetic Genomics, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Evolva SA | 0 | — |
| Naked Biome, Inc. | 0 | — |
| POSFAI GYORGY | 0 | — |
| BLATTNER FREDERICK R | 0 | — |
| J. Craig Venter Institute, Inc. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with a dominant filer, a thinning tail, and several IPC branches that remain lightly claimed. The next steps depend on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, licensing, or identifying open filing territory.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading assignee's claims
With one assignee holding 46 of 125 records, any chassis-construction filing should first be checked against that portfolio's claim scope, not just the aggregate field.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaProbe the under-claimed IPC branches directly
C40B, G16B and C07H each sit under 10% of records — worth a dedicated search before assuming the space is occupied.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack the 2025-2026 filing lag as it fills in
The apparent post-2021 decline is real through 2024, but 2025-2026 volumes are still incomplete under the publication lag and should be re-checked periodically.
Set up monitoring in EurekaCommon questions on chassis organism engineering patents
One assignee leads the ranked field with 46 of the 125 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-ranked assignee at 5 records. The top 5 of 49 ranked assignees together hold 80.8% of all records, so the field is concentrated at the top rather than spread evenly. Anyone assessing freedom-to-operate should start with that leading portfolio before looking at the long tail of single-filing entrants.
Filing peaked in 2017 at 15 records and has declined since; the most recent complete comparison, 2021 (5) to 2024 (1), shows an -80% drop. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so it would be premature to call the field dead based on those years alone. The safest reading is that filing activity has genuinely cooled through 2024, with the very latest trend still unresolved.
Nearly all records, 93.6% of the 125 in scope, carry the C12N classification covering microorganisms and genetic engineering, which is expected given the search terms. Fermentation and enzymatic synthesis (C12P) appears in 40.8% of records and microorganism indexing (C12R) in 36.0%, showing that most chassis claims are paired with a specific production or classification use rather than filed as standalone host claims. Smaller classes like bioinformatics (G16B, 8.8%) and combinatorial libraries (C40B, 4.8%) mark narrower, less-crowded branches.
The lighter-claimed IPC branches in this dataset are combinatorial chassis libraries (C40B, 4.8% of records), bioinformatics-driven chassis selection (G16B, 8.8%), and sugar/nucleic acid chemistry (C07H, 2.4%). Functionally, phage resistance and tool portability across non-model hosts are named search terms in this dataset but do not dominate any single IPC class, suggesting they are still claimed narrowly rather than as core chassis-construction subject matter. A first claim in these areas would likely combine a specific host organism with a quantified tractability or portability metric rather than a broad genome-reduction claim.
WO2025193160A1, filed by Nanyang Technological University and published 2025-09-18, covers a novel isolated Streptomyces strain, Streptomyces sungeiensis SD3, deposited under accession number DSM34917, its engineered version, and uses of both in producing secondary metabolites. As a strain-level deposit-backed claim, it blocks direct use or engineering of that specific deposited strain and its described engineered derivatives for secondary-metabolite production, but does not extend to other Streptomyces strains or to genome-reduction methods generally. Anyone working with related Streptomyces chassis should check strain identity and deposit accession before assuming freedom to operate.
Research Chassis Organism Engineering in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole chassis organism engineering corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.