Fastest
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 →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/fungal-biomass-downstream-processing-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Precision FermentationFungal biomass downstream processing patents: who holds the ground and where it is still open
- 36.7% concentration at the top. The five leading assignees together account for 62 of the 169 records in scope, while a long tail of 47 ranked companies fills out the rest.
- Filing more than doubled in three years. From 9 records in 2021 to 21 in 2024 — a +133% rise — before the usual 18-month publication lag makes the newest years look artificially quiet.
- Processing claims dominate over strain engineering. A23L food-processing classes cover 65.7% of records versus 43.8% for C12N microorganism/genetic-engineering classes, showing where the claim pressure actually sits.
169
Published Records
37%
Top-5 Share of All Records
+133%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
WO
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (9 records) with 2024 (21) — 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 169 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··8 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this landscape covers
Fungal biomass downstream processing sits at the intersection of fermentation engineering and food science: once mycelium or single-cell fungal biomass has been grown, the patentable work shifts to reducing nucleic acid content, fixing texture, drying without collapsing structure, and developing flavor so the biomass is usable as a food ingredient rather than a fermentation byproduct. This dataset of 169 published records, drawn from a search combining biomass-processing terms with specific downstream steps such as heat treatment, nucleic acid limits and drying method, captures the parts of the value chain that sit closest to commercial product, not the upstream strain-development work that dominates broader mycoprotein searches.
The 2015-2026 window shows filing activity rising sharply through the early 2020s, concentrated among a small number of companies that have built processing IP around specific fungal platforms, alongside a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants testing narrower claims.
Filing activity by year, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing 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
Let an AI agent run this analysis on your own technology
Pick a task. Every answer cites the patents behind it.
10,000 free credits to start
The Numbers
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 169-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
Filing rose sharply into 2023 before the reporting lag sets in
Filings ran from 11 records in 2017 to a peak of 46 in 2023. The 2021-to-2024 span alone shows filings climbing from 9 to 21 records, a +133% increase. 2025 and 2026 figures will keep rising as later-filed applications publish — treat the tail end of the chart as incomplete rather than as a slowdown.
Food-processing classes outweigh microbial-engineering classes
A23L (foods & non-alcoholic beverages) appears in 65.7% of the 169 records, ahead of A23J (proteins & food peptides) at 47.3% and C12N (microorganisms & genetic engineering) at 43.8%. A23C (dairy products) at 26.6% and C12P (fermentation & enzymatic synthesis) at 21.9% point to where fungal biomass is being positioned as a dairy or protein substitute rather than purely as a fermentation output. Because records can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares are each measured against the full 169-record base and are not meant to sum to 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 169 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 Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about fungal biomass downstream processing and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaKey Patents
Most-cited records and a representative filing
Representative Filing
US20230025560A1 — Process for the production of mycoprotein (3F Bio Ltd, 2023-01-26)
3F BIO LTD
Describes a continuous process for producing and isolating mycoprotein: fermentation media is fed to a first fermentation vessel, fermented to a mixture of mycoprotein and partially spent media, the spent media is isolated from the mixture, and a portion of that isolated spent media is reintroduced into the fermentation vessel.The claim value here is in the recycling loop — reintroducing isolated spent media back into the vessel — rather than in mycoprotein fermentation as such, which is well established prior art.
Highest-cited records in the dataset
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20040197461A1 | Edible fungi | 55 |
| 2 | US20210251157A1 | Cannabis production systems and methods | 36 |
| 3 | US20200390136A1 | Plant-based product and process | 15 |
| 4 | WO2018029353A1 | Single cell protein from thermophilic fungi | 15 |
| 5 | WO2019121697A1 | Process for industrial production of food-graded fungal biomass | 12 |
| 6 | WO2021142157A1 | Meat-like food products comprising sal butter and/or sal butter compositions | 11 |
| 7 | WO2019122499A1 | Plant-based product and process | 11 |
| 8 | WO2015095769A1 | Low lactose nutritional compositions and methods of producing same | 11 |
| 9 | WO2022245844A1 | High productivity bioprocesses for the massively scalable and ultra-high throughput conversion of co2 into va… | 8 |
| 10 | US20220000162A1 | Food Product Comprising a Pure Fungi Biomass | 8 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations within this corpus — read them as a signal of influence on the field's early framing, not of current commercial importance.
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 Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing 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
Run it yourself
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Where to run it
For builders
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 →Insights
What the data means for a filing decision
Three read-outs from the concentration, growth and citation figures above, translated into what they imply for where new claims can land.
Concentration
36.7%
of 169 records held by top 5 assignees
The top of the field is narrow, the rest is thin
62 of the 169 records in scope belong to the five leading assignees, while the ranked list runs to 47 companies with most holding only a handful of filings each. That combination — a concentrated core plus a long single-filing tail — usually means the core processing steps (nucleic acid reduction, primary drying) are claimed early and thoroughly, leaving room mainly at the margins: specific feedstocks, specific fungal species, or downstream formulation.
Based on the full 169-record assignee ranking.
Growth
+133%
filing growth, 2021 to 2024
Momentum is real, but read the tail with caution
Filings rose from 9 records in 2021 to 21 in 2024, and the field-wide peak so far is 46 records in 2023. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025-2026 figures in the chart are still filling in — they should not be read as the trend cooling, only as data that has not caught up yet.
2021-2024 figures per the filing-trend series.
Technology Mix
65.7%
of records touch A23L (food processing)
Processing claims outnumber strain-engineering claims
A23L coverage at 65.7% of the 169 records well exceeds C12N (microorganism/genetic engineering) at 43.8%, meaning the denser claim territory is in how the biomass is processed into food — heat treatment, drying, texture — rather than in how the organism itself is engineered. That split matters for freedom-to-operate work: a novel strain with an ordinary processing step still has to clear this processing prior art.
IPC shares measured against the 169-record base; a record can carry multiple classes.
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 fungal biomass downstream processing, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing 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
Who's Filing
The competitive set
A ranked list of 47 companies holds every assignee that appears in this 169-record dataset, from a leader with 16 records down to single-filing entrants. Reading the ranking alongside recent-year momentum shows which positions were built early and have since gone quiet, and which are still active.
Leader position
16
records held by the top-ranked assignee
One company sets the pace, but not by a wide margin
The leading assignee holds 16 of the 169 records, with fifth place at 11 and tenth place at 4 — a gradual taper rather than a sharp cliff, suggesting several companies have comparable-sized patent estates rather than one dominant gatekeeper.
Per the full 47-company assignee ranking.
Momentum
0 in latest year
for several previously active filers
Several early movers have gone quiet
More than one assignee that built a meaningful position earlier in the window shows zero filings in the latest year, some down -100% year over year from a prior filing pace. That does not necessarily mean exit from the space — it may reflect the publication lag, a shift to trade secrecy, or a pause after an initial claim-staking phase.
Recent-year momentum by assignee.
Collaboration
3
co-assignee pairs identified
Co-filing is rare and concentrated in dairy-adjacent players
Only three co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, the strongest linking two dairy-sector entities and a fermentation specialty firm. Most filing here is done by a single company alone rather than through joint ventures or research partnerships, which is typical of a field still forming its intellectual property base.
Co-assignee pair counts from the dataset.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Firmenich SA | 0 | -100% |
| Mushlabs GmbH | 0 | -100% |
| MYCORENA AB | 0 | — |
| Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited | 0 | -100% |
| Valio Ltd | 0 | — |
| Vimdelat Consulting Ltd | 0 | — |
| MycoTechnology Inc | 0 | — |
| Technische Universitat Munchen | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing 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 figures here describe the shape of the field. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means going deeper on the specific claims that sit closest to a planned product.
Check freedom-to-operate against the top-cited records
The five most-cited records in this dataset, including two well-established mycoprotein and single-cell-protein filings, define much of the prior art baseline that any new downstream process has to clear.
Explore the citation network in EurekaTrack the assignees whose momentum has dropped to zero
Several companies that built early positions show no filings in the latest year. Knowing whether that reflects publication lag, strategy change or exit shapes how much weight to give their existing claims.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaDraft around the under-claimed processing branches
Continuous nucleic-acid reduction and non-thermal texture fixing show lighter filing density than the core drying and heat-treatment claims, which is where a narrowly drafted first claim has the best chance of clearing prior art.
Draft and search claims in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing 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 fungal biomass processing patents
The dataset ranks 47 companies, with the leading assignee holding 16 of the 169 records in scope and the top five together accounting for 62 records, or 36.7% of the field. Beyond fifth place the numbers taper gradually rather than dropping off a cliff, with tenth place still holding 4 records, so the field has several companies with comparable-sized estates rather than a single dominant gatekeeper. Recent-year momentum data shows some early leaders have dropped to zero filings in the latest year, which is worth checking before assuming their position is still active.
Nucleic acid reduction is one of the defining downstream steps in this dataset's search scope, sitting alongside heat treatment and drying method as a core processing claim area. The IPC composition shows C12P (fermentation & enzymatic synthesis) covering 21.9% of the 169 records and C12R (microorganism index) at 18.3%, both of which frequently intersect with nucleic-acid-reduction claims. Because this is a heavily processed area of the value chain, new filings here need to check closely against the top-cited records, several of which relate directly to producing food-grade fungal biomass at scale.
Filing activity rose substantially through the early 2020s, from 9 records in 2021 to 21 in 2024, a +133% increase, with a peak of 46 records in 2023. That is a genuine rise in filing pressure, not noise. The 2025 and 2026 figures in any trend chart will look lower simply because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so those most recent years should not be read as the field cooling off — they are still filling in.
Food-processing classes outweigh microbial-engineering classes in this dataset: A23L (foods & non-alcoholic beverages) appears in 65.7% of the 169 records, A23J (proteins & food peptides) in 47.3%, and C12N (microorganisms & genetic engineering) in 43.8%. A23C (dairy products) at 26.6% signals a substantial push to position fungal biomass as a dairy substitute. Since a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these percentages are each measured against the full 169-record base and will not sum to 100%.
Comparing the ranked concentration figures against the IPC breakdown points to a few lighter-filed branches: continuous nucleic-acid reduction loops, non-thermal texture-fixing methods, feedstock-specific flavor development, and animal-feed-grade drying, the last of which sits under the A23K class covering only 9.5% of the 169 records. These branches sit adjacent to the dense core of heat-treatment and drying claims rather than replacing them, so a workable filing strategy usually means narrowing a claim to one of these specific applications rather than re-claiming the core process.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing 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
Research Fungal Biomass Downstream Processing in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole fungal biomass downstream processing 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.