The dataset ranks 40 assignees across 113 records, with the leader holding 19 records and the top five combined holding 55 records, or 48.7% of the field. That leaves a long tail of companies with only one or two filings each, so the field is concentrated at the top but far from a duopoly. Anyone assessing competitive position should look at both the leader’s filing pace and the size of the tail before assuming the space is closed.

Filings peaked at 23 records in 2018 and have declined since, with the 2021-to-2024 window down 75% (from 4 records to 1). However, publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 figures in any trend chart are still filling in and should not be read as confirmation the field has gone quiet. The honest read is: activity has cooled markedly from its 2018 peak, with the most recent two years too incomplete to call.

The bulk of the 113 records sit in bioreactor and enzyme apparatus claims (C12M, 83.2%), followed by fermentation and enzymatic synthesis process claims (C12P, 62.8%) and microorganism or genetic-engineering claims (C12N, 49.6%). Smaller but notable shares touch foods (A23L), animal feed (A23K), enzyme/DNA testing (C12Q) and peptide chemistry (C07K), each in the 10 to 12% range. Because a single record often carries several of these classes, the shares add to more than 100% of the record total and should be read as overlap, not as separate slices of a pie.