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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/hollow-fiber-bioreactor-vessel-design-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Bioreactor Vessel DesignHollow-Fiber Bioreactor Vessel Design Patents: Filing Trends and Leaders
- Concentrated at the top. The top 5 assignees hold 42.2% of all 223 records in scope, and the top 10 hold 65.5% — vessel geometry and port-layout claims sit on a short list of repeat filers.
- Filing has pulled back from its 2023 peak. Filings ran 15 in 2021 down to 7 in 2024, a 53% drop over that span, though 2025-2026 counts are still filling in as publication catches up with filing.
- One academic cluster dominates recent co-filing. Radisic Milica appears in three of the strongest co-assignee pairs in the dataset, each shared with a different named co-inventor at 12 joint records.
223
Published Records
42%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-53%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (15 records) with 2024 (7) — 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 223 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··8 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks 223 published records at the intersection of hollow-fiber and perfusion bioreactor culture systems and the vessel-design parameters that determine whether a design is manufacturable at scale: aspect ratio, working and headspace volume, port layout, drainability and surface finish. The scope is bounded by IPC classes C12M1/12, B01D63/02 and C12M3/00, so it captures apparatus-level claims rather than upstream cell-biology or media-formulation work.
Records span 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off, with the most recent one to two years understated because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months. Patent families, rather than raw document counts, are the fairer unit for judging how contested a given design choice actually is.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Vessel Design 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 223-record set: the year-by-year filing count, and how records distribute across IPC subclasses. Because a single record can carry several IPC classes, the subclass shares below add up to well over 100% of the record total.
Filings rose to a 2023 peak, then eased
Annual filings climbed from 6 in 2017 toward a peak of 22 in 2023, then fell — 15 in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a 53% decline over that three-year window. Treat 2025 and 2026 counts as provisional; they will revise upward as publications catch up with filing dates.
C12M dominates; C12N is the largest secondary class
C12M (bioreactors and enzyme apparatus) appears on 98.7% of the 223 records, confirming the scope is correctly centred on reactor apparatus. C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) reaches 50.7%, showing that half of all vessel-design filings are tied to a specific cell or organism class rather than filed as generic apparatus. Smaller classes — B01L, C07K, A61K, A23L, C12P and G01N, each between 6.3% and 9.4% — mark adjacent application areas (lab apparatus, protein products, food, analytics) where vessel-design claims are filed alongside a specific end use.
Shares are the percentage of the 223 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 Vessel Design 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 Vessel Design with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about hollow-fiber bioreactor vessel design and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
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Representative filing and most-cited records
Representative Filing
WO2016044537A1 — Microfluidic system and method for perfusion bioreactor cell retention
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
A microfluidic system for cell retention for a perfusion bioreactor is provided. The system comprises at least one inlet configured to receive a bioreaction mixture to be processed. At least one curvilinear microchannel is in fluid flow connection with the inlet and is adapted to isolate cells based on cell size along at least one portion of a cross-section. At least two outlets are in fluid flow connection with the microchannel, with at least one outlet configured to flow the isolated cells back to the process.Filed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published 2016-03-24.
Most-cited records in this landscape
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6197575B1 | Vascularized perfused microtissue/micro-organ arrays | 776 |
| 2 | US20060154361A1 | Bioreactors with substance injection capacity | 287 |
| 3 | US5882918A | Cell culture incubator | 251 |
| 4 | US5958763A | Cell culture incubator | 165 |
| 5 | US20110033887A1 | Three-Dimensional Microfabricated Bioreactors with Embedded Capillary Network | 133 |
| 6 | US20090042253A1 | Use of perfusion to enhance production of fed-batch cell culture in bioreactors | 121 |
| 7 | WO2015061907A1 | Devices and methods for three-dimensional tissue culturing | 100 |
| 8 | US20160282338A1 | Compositions and methods for making and using three-dimensional issue systems | 79 |
| 9 | WO2014081840A1 | Organ on chip integration and applications of the same | 78 |
| 10 | US5674750A | Continuous selective clonogenic expansion of relatively undifferentiated cells | 74 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older 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 Vessel Design 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, class and co-filing data — useful for deciding where a new filing has room to stand and where it will collide with dense prior art.
Concentration
65.5% in 10 assignees
of 223 records
Vessel-design claims sit with a short list of repeat filers
The top 10 assignees account for 146 of the 223 records in scope, 65.5% of the field, while the leader alone holds 23. A new entrant filing on core vessel geometry, port layout or drainability should expect to design around this group's claim scope rather than find open ground.
Ranking covers 83 assignees total, not a top-50 or top-100 cut.
Momentum
-53% (2021→2024)
annual filings
Filing has cooled from its 2023 peak
After climbing from 6 filings in 2017 to a peak of 22 in 2023, annual counts fell from 15 in 2021 to 7 in 2024 — a 53% drop across that window. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, this should be read as a real pullback through 2024, not as continued decline into 2025-2026.
2025-2026 counts will revise upward as data fills in.
Application spread
50.7% carry C12N
of 223 records
Half of all filings tie vessel design to a specific cell class
C12M apparatus claims appear on 98.7% of records, but half also carry C12N microorganism or genetic-engineering classification, meaning vessel-design claims are frequently bundled with a specific organism or cell line rather than filed as generic hardware.
Smaller classes (B01L, C07K, A61K, A23L, C12P, G01N) each sit between 6.3% and 9.4%.
Co-filing
12 joint records
strongest pair
One academic cluster drives the densest co-assignment
Of 10 identified co-assignee pairs in the dataset, the three strongest all involve the same lead inventor, each paired with a different named collaborator at 12 joint records apiece — a signature of a single active academic lab rather than an industry consortium.
Useful for scouting freedom-to-operate around that lab's specific claim language.
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 vessel design, 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 Vessel Design 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 list covers 83 assignees active in hollow-fiber and perfusion bioreactor vessel design. Recent-year momentum for several of the largest historical filers reads flat, which is consistent with the overall 2021-2024 pullback rather than a signal specific to any one company.
Leader
23 records
leading assignee
A single filer sits well ahead of the field
The leading assignee holds 23 records against a fifth-place count of 14 and a tenth-place count of 9 — a steep drop-off that marks this as a concentrated field at the very top, with a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants below rank 10.
83 assignees ranked in total.
Academic cluster
12 joint records
top co-filing pair
University-affiliated inventors drive dense co-filing
The strongest co-assignee relationships in the dataset centre on one lead academic inventor working with multiple named collaborators, each pairing reaching 12 joint records — denser co-filing than seen among the corporate assignees.
Ten identified co-assignee pairs total.
Momentum
0 in latest year
for several top-10 filers
Several historical leaders show no recent-year filings
Multiple assignees that built large historical portfolios — including large biologics and university filers — show zero filings in the latest tracked year, with some posting a -100% year-on-year change. This tracks the broader 2021-2024 pullback rather than indicating those filers have exited the space.
Recency reads should account for the 18-month publication lag.
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Genzyme Corp | 0 | — |
| Univercells SA | 0 | -100% |
| Vanderbilt University | 0 | — |
| RADISIC MILICA | 0 | — |
| Amgen Inc | 0 | -100% |
| F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG | 0 | — |
| ZHANG BOYANG | 0 | — |
| XIAO YUN | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Vessel Design 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 next
The dataset points to where claim space is dense and where it thins out. The next step is turning that into a specific filing or freedom-to-operate decision.
Map a specific vessel design against the leader's claim scope
With the top 10 assignees holding 65.5% of records, checking a new design's port layout, aspect ratio or drainability approach against the leading filers' granted claims is the fastest way to find where design-around is actually needed.
Explore assignee claim scope in EurekaWatch the academic co-filing cluster
The lead academic inventor and collaborators driving the 12-record co-assignee pairs represent an active, narrowly focused research program; tracking their continuation filings is a low-cost way to anticipate where that lab's claim scope will extend next.
Track inventor activity in EurekaRevisit the 2025-2026 trend once data fills in
Current counts for 2025 and 2026 are provisional given the roughly 18-month publication lag; re-running this trend in a future cycle will show whether the 2021-2024 pullback continued or reversed.
Set a filing-trend alert in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Vessel Design 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
Frequently asked questions
The dataset's leading assignee holds 23 of the 223 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 14 and the tenth-place holder at 9. The ranking covers 83 assignees in total, and the top 10 combined account for 65.5% of all records, so filing activity is concentrated among a relatively small group of repeat filers rather than spread evenly. Anyone assessing freedom-to-operate in this space should start with that top group's granted claims before looking at the long tail below rank 10.
Filings rose from 6 in 2017 to a peak of 22 in 2023, then declined from 15 in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a 53% drop over that three-year window. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in any dataset are still incomplete and should not be read as confirming a continued decline. Based on the complete years through 2024, the field has cooled from its 2023 peak but remains active.
The core class is C12M (bioreactors and enzyme apparatus), appearing on 98.7% of the 223 records in this landscape. C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) is the largest secondary class at 50.7%, reflecting that many vessel-design claims are tied to a specific cell or organism type. Smaller classes — B01L, C07K, A61K, A23L, C12P and G01N — each cover between 6.3% and 9.4% of records and mark adjacent application areas such as lab apparatus, protein products, food and analytical testing.
WO2016044537A1, filed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published 2016-03-24, claims a microfluidic system for cell retention in a perfusion bioreactor built around at least one curvilinear microchannel that isolates cells by size and routes them back to the process through dedicated outlets. It is specific to size-based curvilinear-channel retention rather than hollow-fiber membrane retention generally, so it constrains designs using that particular microchannel geometry more than it blocks hollow-fiber vessel design broadly. Any team working on cell-retention mechanisms should still read its granted claims closely before finalising a channel geometry.
The class-level data shows core apparatus claims (C12M) and organism-specific claims (C12N) are both heavily filed, while narrower vessel-engineering parameters — port layout for multi-module stacks, headspace-volume control, surface-finish and drainability specifications, and aspect-ratio optimisation for scale-up — sit in the smaller secondary classes with comparatively thinner direct coverage. These are the areas worth checking first for an under-claimed first filing, since they sit adjacent to the dense core rather than inside it.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor Vessel Design 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.