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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/hollow-fiber-bioreactor-sensor-integration-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Updated 2026Hollow-fiber bioreactor sensor integration patents: who holds the claim space
- 59.3% concentration. The top 5 assignees combined account for 216 of the 364 records in scope — filing here is a narrow race, not a crowded field.
- Filing has cooled from its 2021 pace. Filings fell from 20 in 2021 to 8 in 2024, a -60% shift over that span, though 2025-2026 figures are still filling in as publications catch up to filings.
- Sensor and control classes stay thin. G06F (digital data processing) and B01D (separation processes) each sit near or under 5% of the 364 records, well behind the core C12M bioreactor class at 98.4%.
364
Published Records
59%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-60%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (20 records) with 2024 (8) — 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 364 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this landscape covers
Hollow-fiber bioreactor sensor integration sits at the intersection of perfusion cell culture hardware and the instrumentation bolted onto it: sterile connectors, optical probes, pressure and temperature sensing, and signal isolation for continuous monitoring. The dataset behind this page pulls 364 published records filed against C12M1/12, B01D63/02 and C12M3/00 where the claims also touch sterile-connector, probe-position or signal-isolation language. That combination separates core bioreactor housing claims from the narrower set that actually integrate sensing or fluid-handling hardware into the hollow-fiber format.
Coverage runs from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 data cut-off, with receiving offices led by the United States, the European Patent Office and the WIPO PCT route — a spread that points to applicants protecting the same underlying hardware across multiple jurisdictions rather than filing purely domestic programmes.
Filing activity and technology mix, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration 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
The Data
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 364 records: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend: a peak, then a pullback
Filings rose to a peak of 42 in 2023 after climbing from 40 in 2017, then pulled back — 2021's 20 filings dropped to 8 by 2024, a -60% move. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025-2026 dip in the raw count is an artefact of that lag, not evidence the field has gone quiet.
Technology composition: concentrated in the core class
C12M (bioreactors and enzyme apparatus) touches 98.4% of the 364 records, as expected given the search scope. The more telling numbers sit further down: C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) reaches 32.4%, while B01L, A61M, F04B, A61K, B01D and G06F each sit in the single digits — the sensor, pump and data-processing hardware that gives this niche its name is present in a minority of filings, not the majority.
Shares are the percentage of the 364 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 Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about hollow-fiber bioreactor sensor integration and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
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The records other filings cite most
Representative Filing
Method and apparatus for virus and vaccine production (US9732313B2)
BIOVEST INTERNATIONAL, INC.
The invention concerns a bioreactor for production of virus and virus-like particles (VLPs), methods for production of virus and VLPs, methods for regulating the concentration of molecules inhibitory to viral and VLP yield in a cell culture chamber of a bioreactor, such as the extracapillary space of a hollow fiber bioreactor.Filed by Biovest International, granted 2017-08-15. Its claims center on regulating inhibitory-molecule concentration in the extracapillary space, which is the operational zone most sensor-integration patents also target.
Most-cited records in this dataset
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5424209A | Automated cell culture and testing system | 257 |
| 2 | US5882918A | Cell culture incubator | 251 |
| 3 | US20090269841A1 | Method and system for the production of cells and cell products and applications thereof | 130 |
| 4 | US20110212493A1 | Perfusion bioreactors, cell culture systems, and methods for production of cells and cell-derived products | 108 |
| 5 | US4918019A | Bioreactor system with plasticizer removal | 106 |
| 6 | US5571720A | Integrated cell culture protein purification system for the automated production and purification of proteins | 102 |
| 7 | US4894342A | Bioreactor system | 95 |
| 8 | US20050158851A1 | Bioreactor systems and disposable bioreactor | 90 |
| 9 | WO2018011805A2 | Systems and methods for growing cells in vitro | 87 |
| 10 | US5270207A | Circulatory culture equipment | 76 |
Citation counts inside this corpus skew toward older filings by construction — a 1990s patent has had decades to accumulate citations that a 2023 filing has not. Read these as markers of foundational influence, not current relevance.
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 Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration 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 decision
Three findings that change where a new application should — and should not — aim its claims.
Concentration
59.3% / top 5
share of 364 records
Five assignees hold most of the claim space
The top 5 assignees combined account for 216 of the 364 records in scope, a 59.3% share. The leader alone holds 108 records against a fifth-place figure of 17 — a steep drop-off that signals one or two dominant portfolios rather than an even field.
Top 10 combined reach 72.5% of all records.
Momentum
-60%
2021 to 2024 filings
Filing pace has cooled from its 2021 level
Filings dropped from 20 in 2021 to 8 in 2024, a -60% shift over that three-year span, after peaking at 42 in 2023. Momentum data on named assignees for the latest year shows several leaders at zero filings, though that reading is affected by the same publication lag.
2025-2026 counts are still filling in; treat them as provisional.
Technology mix
4.4% / G06F
share of 364 records
Data-processing claims remain a minority
G06F (digital data processing) appears in only 16 of 364 records, 4.4%, and B01D (separation/filtration) in 16 records, 4.4% as well. Given that the search explicitly targets sensor and connector language, this low share suggests most filings still protect the hardware housing rather than the signal-processing layer around it.
C12N (microorganism engineering) is the largest secondary class at 32.4%.
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 hollow-fiber bioreactor sensor integration, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration 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 gate sits
The ranking below covers 99 companies — the whole ranking the data endpoint returns, not a top-50 or top-100 cut. Filing concentration is steep at the very top and then flattens quickly.
Leader
108 records
leading assignee
One portfolio well ahead of the field
The leading assignee holds 108 of the 364 records in scope, more than six times the count at fifth place (17). That gap is unusual enough to warrant a freedom-to-operate check before filing anything that touches extracapillary-space sensing or fluid regulation.
Fifth place sits at 17 records; tenth place at 8.
Long tail
89 of 99
companies outside the top 10
A long tail of single- and few-filing entrants
Outside the top 10 assignees (which together hold 72.5% of all 364 records), the remaining companies in the 99-strong ranking each hold small counts. That pattern is typical of a field where core bioreactor housing is locked up but instrumentation add-ons are still being tried by newer entrants.
Co-assignee pairings are limited — only 10 pairs recorded across the dataset.
Collaboration
10 pairs
co-assignee pairs
Collaboration is the exception, not the rule
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, the strongest linking an academic pair at 8 shared records. Most filings in this space are single-assignee, which means licensing-in a sensor sub-system usually means dealing with one owner rather than negotiating a consortium.
University-industry pairs are present but not dominant.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Terumo BCT, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Univercells SA | 0 | -100% |
| BIOVEST INTERNATIONAL INC | 0 | — |
| MorphoCell Technologies Inc. | 0 | — |
| ESTR Biosystems GmbH | 0 | — |
| Wake Forest University Health Sciences | 0 | — |
| SHEVITZ JERRY | 0 | — |
| The General Hospital Corporation | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration 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 from here
Use the dataset to narrow a filing strategy or check exposure before committing claim language.
Map your claim against the leader's 108-record portfolio
Before drafting sensor-integration claims, check overlap against the leading assignee's filings — a six-times gap over fifth place means freedom-to-operate risk concentrates there first.
Run a freedom-to-operate check →Target the under-claimed sensor sub-areas
G06F and B01D each sit at 4.4% of the 364 records — probe calibration, signal isolation and pump-integrated sensing carry lower filing density than the core housing claims.
Explore white space in Eureka →Watch the 2025-2026 publication catch-up
The apparent drop after 2024 is a publication-lag artefact, not a real slowdown. Re-check filing counts once 2025 fully publishes before drawing conclusions about market direction.
Track filing trends in Eureka →Source: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration 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 about this landscape
One assignee leads clearly with 108 of the 364 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 17. The top 5 assignees combined hold 216 records, 59.3% of the field, which means the claim space is concentrated rather than evenly spread across the 99 companies in the ranking. Anyone entering this space should check that leading portfolio first, since it covers a disproportionate share of the core hardware claims.
Filings peaked at 42 in 2023 after rising from 40 in 2017, then fell — 2021's 20 filings dropped to 8 by 2024, a -60% change over that span. However, publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so the apparent drop in 2025-2026 counts partly reflects records that have not published yet rather than a genuine collapse in activity. A fair read of momentum should wait for 2025 to fully populate.
US9732313B2, held by Biovest International and granted in 2017, covers a bioreactor for producing virus and virus-like particles and methods for regulating concentrations of molecules that inhibit viral yield within the extracapillary space of a hollow-fiber bioreactor. Its claims sit on the operational zone that much of the surrounding sensor and connector activity also targets, making it a reference point for freedom-to-operate checks in virus and vaccine production applications specifically, rather than for hollow-fiber culture generally.
Within this dataset, IPC classes tied to digital data processing (G06F, 4.4% of 364 records) and separation/filtration (B01D, 4.4%) show the lowest filing density among the tracked classes, well below the core C12M bioreactor class at 98.4%. That gap suggests probe calibration logic, signal isolation methods and pump-integrated sensing remain less crowded than the physical bioreactor housing itself, though a low count is not proof the area is unclaimed elsewhere — it reflects only what this search scope captured.
Academic and individual entities appear in the ranking of 99 companies, and co-assignee pairings do occur — the strongest pairing in the dataset links an academic pair at 8 shared records. But only 10 co-assignee pairs exist across the whole dataset, so most records are filed by a single assignee rather than a joint venture or research collaboration. That points to a field where licensing-in technology usually means negotiating with one owner, not a consortium.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sensor Integration 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.