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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/hollow-fiber-bioreactor-sterilization-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Updated 2026Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sterilization Patents: Who Holds the Ground
- Concentrated at the top. The top 5 assignees hold 51.4% of all 109 records in scope, and the top 10 hold 79.8% — a small group of filers controls most of the documented claim space.
- Filing has cooled from its peak. Filings peaked at 12 in 2021 and fell to 3 by 2024, a -75% move over that span; 2025 onward is still filling in due to publication lag.
- Sterilization claims lean on filtration. 24.8% of records also carry a B01D separation/filtration class alongside the core C12M bioreactor class, showing sterile-filter and condensate-removal claims are usually bundled with reactor design, not filed alone.
109
Published Records
51%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-75%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (12 records) with 2024 (3) — 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 109 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 records at the intersection of hollow-fiber and perfusion bioreactor design with sterilization-specific claims: steam cycles, thermal mapping, sterile filters, condensate removal, biological indicators and sterile hold steps. The search combines hollow-fiber and perfusion bioreactor terminology with sterilization-process terminology, scoped to core bioreactor and filtration IPC classes (C12M1/12, B01D63/02, C12M3/00). It captures 109 published records from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off.
Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend chart understate true filing activity. Read the 2024 figures as the most recent complete signal, and treat 2025-2026 as provisional.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sterilization 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 109 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which technology classes the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings rose to a peak of 12 in 2021, then declined to 3 by 2024 (-75% over that span). 2025 and 2026 figures are partial due to publication lag and should not be read as a continued decline.
IPC class composition
Every record carries the core C12M bioreactor class by construction of the search. The next largest signal is B01D filtration/separation at 24.8% of the 109 records, followed by smaller shares in C12N, A61F, B01L and F04B — each record can carry more than one class, so shares sum past 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 109 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 Sterilization 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 Sterilization with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about hollow-fiber bioreactor sterilization and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
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Most-cited records and a representative filing
Representative Filing
US20160319234A1 — Continuously Controlled Hollow Fiber Bioreactor
L&J BIO CO., LTD.
Continuously Controlled Hollow fiber Bioreactor (CCHB) for the production of consistent quality cells or cell-derived products is provided. General components of the CCHB including a hollow fiber cell culture module, a new-medium chamber and a used-medium chamber, disposably attachable or detachable to base devices such as rocking platform and circulation pumps. Quality parameters including nutrient, oxygen, pH and temperature in the medium are optimally maintained during production.Filed by L&J Bio Co., Ltd., published 2016-11-03.
Most-cited records in scope
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4889812A | Bioreactor apparatus | 188 |
| 2 | US5126238A | Hollow fiber cell propagation system and method | 124 |
| 3 | US20090042253A1 | Use of perfusion to enhance production of fed-batch cell culture in bioreactors | 121 |
| 4 | US5656421A | Multi-bioreactor hollow fiber cell propagation system and method | 111 |
| 5 | US4918019A | Bioreactor system with plasticizer removal | 106 |
| 6 | US6022742A | Culture device and method | 105 |
| 7 | US6214574B1 | Cross-flow filtration and culture method | 104 |
| 8 | US5571720A | Integrated cell culture protein purification system for the automated production and purification of proteins | 102 |
| 9 | US4894342A | Bioreactor system | 95 |
| 10 | US6127141A | Culture device and method | 84 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and favour older, earlier-filed records — they are not a measure 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 Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sterilization 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 read-throughs from the concentration, trend and citation data above.
Concentration
51.4% / 79.8%
top 5 / top 10 share of 109 records
A narrow group controls the claim space
With the top 5 assignees holding 51.4% of all 109 records and the top 10 holding 79.8%, a new entrant is filing into ground already staked by a small set of players rather than into an open field. Freedom-to-operate work should start with those leaders' claim sets, not a broad prior-art sweep.
Based on the 38-company ranking returned for this dataset.
Momentum
12 → 3
peak-year filings (2021) vs 2024
Activity has pulled back from its 2021 peak
Filings peaked at 12 in 2021 and dropped to 3 by 2024, a -75% move. That is a real pullback in documented activity, not a data artefact — but because 2025-2026 records are still arriving, it should not be read as the field having stopped.
2024 is the most recent year treated as complete.
Technology mix
24.8%
of records also class under B01D filtration
Sterile-filter claims travel with reactor design
Nearly a quarter of the 109 records also carry a B01D separation/filtration class, meaning sterile-filter and condensate-removal claims are typically drafted as part of a reactor system claim rather than filed as standalone filtration patents.
Smaller shares (5-8%) appear in C12N, A61F, B01L and F04B, pointing to secondary integration points with cell-culture, implant, lab-scale and pumping hardware.
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 sterilization, 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 Sterilization 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 active, and where the gaps sit
The ranking covers 38 companies across the 109 records in scope — not a top-50 or top-100 cut, but the full set the dataset returns.
Leader
17 records
top-ranked assignee
One filer sits clearly ahead
The leading assignee holds 17 of the 109 records, well ahead of the field; by fifth place the count is down to 8 and by tenth place to 5, showing a steep drop-off rather than a gradual one.
Concentration data: top 5 = 51.4%, top 10 = 79.8% of all records.
Collaboration
10 pairs
co-assignee pairings identified
A handful of tight academic-industry pairs
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the data, with two university partners linked on 8 shared records and a two-person inventor pair linked on 6 — small, repeated collaborations rather than broad cross-industry alliances.
Strongest pairing: University of Zurich with Eindhoven University of Technology.
Momentum
0 in latest year
for several formerly active filers
Even established filers show no latest-year activity
Several of the more active historical assignees, including established corporate and university filers, show zero filings in the latest year in this dataset — consistent with the broader pullback from the 2021 peak rather than any single company exiting.
Publication lag means 2025-2026 activity for any filer is still incomplete.
Recent-year filing momentum
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| ESTR Biosystems GmbH | 0 | — |
| Univercells SA | 0 | — |
| SHEVITZ JERRY | 0 | — |
| University of Zurich | 0 | — |
| Repligen Corp | 0 | — |
| Eindhoven University of Technology | 0 | — |
| EMD Millipore Corp | 0 | — |
| Just Evotec Biologics Inc | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sterilization 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
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether you are clearing a filing or scanning for open space.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leaders
With the top 10 assignees holding 79.8% of the 109 records in scope, a targeted claim review of those filers is more useful than a broad prior-art scan before drafting new sterilization claims.
Explore assignee claims in EurekaWatch the 2025-2026 gap close
Filing counts for 2025 and 2026 will keep rising as publications catch up; revisit the trend after the lag window closes rather than concluding the field has slowed.
Track filing trends in EurekaProbe the under-claimed sub-areas
Biological-indicator placement, condensate-removal control and sterile-hold automation show limited dedicated claim density relative to the core bioreactor class — worth a deeper novelty search before committing to a direction.
Run a white-space search in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sterilization 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
The dataset ranks 38 companies across 109 records, with the leading assignee holding 17 records and a steep drop-off after that — fifth place holds 8 and tenth place holds 5. The top 5 assignees combined account for 51.4% of all 109 records, and the top 10 account for 79.8%, so most of the documented claim space sits with a small group rather than being spread evenly. Anyone assessing freedom to operate should start with that top tier before widening the search.
Filings rose to a peak of 12 in 2021 and fell to 3 by 2024, a -75% move over that three-year span, which is a genuine pullback in documented activity. However, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures in this dataset are still incomplete and should not be read as confirming a continued decline. The fairest read is that activity cooled after 2021, with the true current trajectory not yet visible in published data.
The search terms behind this dataset cover steam cycles, thermal mapping, sterile filters, condensate removal, biological indicators and sterile hold — the standard validated-sterilization toolkit for bioprocessing equipment. Nearly a quarter of the 109 records (24.8%) also carry a B01D filtration/separation IPC class alongside the core C12M bioreactor class, showing sterile-filter and condensate-removal claims are usually bundled into a reactor system claim rather than filed as standalone filtration patents. Smaller shares of records touch C12N cell-culture, A61F implant, B01L lab-apparatus and F04B pump classes, marking secondary integration points.
The most-cited record in this dataset is US4889812A, "Bioreactor apparatus," with 188 citations, followed by US5126238A ("Hollow fiber cell propagation system and method," 124 citations) and US20090042253A1 on perfusion-enhanced fed-batch culture (121 citations). High citation counts in a searched corpus tend to favour older, earlier-filed records simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations, so treat this as a measure of historical influence rather than current commercial relevance. Newer filings with real technical merit may simply not have caught up yet.
Relative to the dense core bioreactor claim space, sub-areas such as biological-indicator placement mapping, in-line condensate-removal control, thermal-mapping validation protocols and sterile-hold cycle automation show comparatively limited dedicated claim density. That does not mean these areas are unpatented, but the concentration of filings among a small group of leading assignees suggests less-crowded adjacent claims may be available around process automation and validation steps rather than core reactor hardware. A targeted novelty search on those specific sub-topics is a reasonable next step before drafting.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Sterilization 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.