Sequencing by Synthesis Patents: Filing Trends and Who Holds the Core Claims
Concentrated at the top. the five leading assignees account for 52.9% of all 3,662 records in scope, and the top ten hold 67.2%. Filings ran from 166 in 2017 to a peak of 407 in 2019. The clearest recent signal is a -50% move from 309 records in 2021 to 153 in 2024, the last year the dataset treats as complete; 2025 and 2026 figures will fill in as publication catches up.
- 1ILLUMINA INC764
- 2ILLUMINA CAMBRIDGE LTD425
- 3ELEMENT BIOSCIENCES INC412
- 4LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORP180
- 5PACIFIC BIOSCIENCES OF CALIFORNIA INC158
See the full sequencing by synthesis chemistry analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions on sequencing by synthesis patents
Who holds the most patents in sequencing by synthesis chemistry?
One assignee leads clearly by volume, holding 764 records against 158 for the fifth-ranked filer and 63 for the tenth. The top five assignees combined account for 52.9% of the 3,662 records in scope, and the top ten reach 67.2%. That level of concentration means most of the foundational reversible-terminator and dye-chemistry claim space is already occupied by a small group, so new filers are generally working around existing claims rather than into open territory.
Is patent filing in sequencing by synthesis chemistry slowing down?
The complete-year data shows a real drop: filings fell from 309 in 2021 to 153 in 2024, a -50% change, after peaking at 407 in 2019. However, publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the lower counts shown for 2025 and 2026 are not yet a reliable read on current filing activity. The 2021-2024 comparison is the soundest basis for saying the pace has cooled from its peak.
What technology areas dominate the patent claims in this field?
C12Q, the enzyme and DNA measurement/testing classification, appears in 70.4% of the 3,662 records in scope, making it by far the densest classification. G01N material analysis (26.6%), G16B bioinformatics (21.6%) and C12N genetic engineering (21.3%) follow well behind. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC classes, these percentages overlap rather than sum to 100%, which is expected.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Sequencing by Synthesis Chemistry covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.