Single-Use Bioreactor Gas Transfer Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- 51.8% concentration. The top five assignees alone account for 260 of the 502 records in scope — over half the field sits with a handful of holders.
- Filings down 63% since the last complete peak. From 27 filings in 2021 to 10 in 2024, the documented growth figure the page tracks — with 2025 onward still filling in due to publication lag.
- Gas exchange claims lean on decades-old prior art. The most-cited record in this set, a stirred-tank reactor system, carries 292 citations — a strong signal that foundational aeration claims are hard to route around.
Filing growth compares 2021 (27 records) with 2024 (10) — 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 502 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape isolates patent documents at the intersection of single-use and disposable bioreactor hardware and the physical mechanics of gas transfer: gas holdup, bubble diameter, superficial velocity, oxygen gradient, transfer coefficient and exhaust gas handling. The scope is defined by C12M1/00, C12M1/12 and C12M3/00 combined with the gas-transfer terms, which keeps the set focused on aeration and mass-transfer engineering rather than general cell-culture chemistry.
502 published records fall inside this scope through mid-2026. The assignee ranking behind this page covers 100 companies, and receiving-office data shows the United States, EPO and WIPO carrying the bulk of filings, with India, Israel and Australia forming a secondary tier.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 502-record set: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claims.
Filing trend: a 2023 peak, then a lagging tail
Filings ran from 43 in 2017 to a peak of 60 in 2023. The tracked growth window shows 2021 at 27 filings falling to 10 in 2024 — a 63% drop over that three-year span. Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete and should not be read as a continued decline.
Technology composition: mixing and cell engineering dominate outside the core class
Every record in scope carries a C12M bioreactor classification by definition. Beyond that, B01F mixing and stirring appears in 18.7% of the 502 records, C12N microorganism and genetic engineering work in 12.7%, and C07K peptide and protein claims in 11.8%. B01D separation processes sit at 11.2%, while C12P fermentation, A61K medicinal preparations and F16K valves each cover a much smaller slice — signalling where hardware claims for gas transfer intersect with downstream bioprocessing steps.
Shares are the percentage of the 502 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Single-Use Bioreactor Gas Transfer with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about single-use bioreactor gas transfer and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe claims setting the boundaries
Biotechnological apparatus comprising a bioreactor, exhaust gas temperature control device for a bioreactor and a method for treating an exhaust gas stream
This document from DASGIP Information and Process Technology addresses a biotechnological apparatus that pairs a bioreactor with an exhaust gas temperature control device, plus a connection device for a sterile single-use fluid conduit and a method for treating a fluid stream. The reusable connection device includes a receptacle for the fluid conduit and a coupling member linked to the temperature control device.Filed as US20140329224A1, dated 2014-11-06.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US7384783B2 | Stirred-tank reactor system | 292 |
| 2 | US20050239199A1 | Stirred-tank reactor system | 253 |
| 3 | US6432698B1 | Disposable bioreactor for culturing microorganisms and cells | 247 |
| 4 | US6391638B1 | Cell/tissue culturing device and method | 201 |
| 5 | US20170349874A1 | Single Use Bioreactor | 135 |
| 6 | US20180010082A1 | Bioreactor With Higher Agitation Rates | 79 |
| 7 | WO1998013469A1 | Cell/tissue culturing device and method | 74 |
| 8 | US20020110915A1 | Cell/tissue culturing device and method | 69 |
| 9 | WO2008135991A2 | Large scale disposable bioreactor | 65 |
| 10 | US20140011270A1 | Flexible bag for cultivation of cells | 59 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings — treat this as a measure of influence on later claim drafting, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three read-throughs of the same 502-record set, framed for decisions rather than description.
Half the field sits with a small group
The top five assignees combine for 260 of the 502 records in scope, and the top ten extend that to 364 records, or 72.5%. A leader with 90 records sits well ahead of fifth place at 27 and tenth place at 16 — the drop-off from first to fifth is steep, then the tail flattens.
Volume has pulled back from its 2023 peak
Filings peaked at 60 in 2023 after building from 43 in 2017. The documented three-year window shows a 63% decline from 2021 to 2024 — the last year that can be read as complete before publication lag distorts the picture.
Foundational stirred-tank claims still anchor the space
The most-cited record in this scope, a stirred-tank reactor system, carries 292 citations, with a related filing at 253 and a disposable bioreactor culturing patent at 247. New filings in gas-transfer hardware are drafted against this dense citation base rather than in open territory.
Mixing hardware is the largest adjacent claim area
Beyond the core C12M classification, B01F mixing and stirring appears across 18.7% of records and C12N microorganism engineering across 12.7% — evidence that gas-transfer claims are frequently bundled with agitation and cell-line specifics rather than filed in isolation.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to single-use bioreactor gas transfer, with the prior art for and against each one.
Players and where the open ground is
The ranking is top-heavy, but momentum has cooled even for the leaders, and several technically specific sub-areas remain thinly claimed.
A single leader well ahead of the field
The top-ranked assignee holds 90 records against 27 at fifth place and 16 at tenth — a gap wide enough that new entrants are unlikely to challenge the leader position outright, but the mid-tier remains contestable.
Even the largest holders are filing less
Recent-year momentum for several of the largest assignees shows sharp pullbacks, including one leader down 50% year over year and others at zero filings in the latest year. This is consistent with the broader 63% filing decline tracked from 2021 to 2024, not a sign that any one company has exited the space.
Joint filings cluster around a small set of partners
Ten co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, with the strongest pairings recurring across the same small group of related entities — suggesting joint filing here tends to follow corporate affiliation rather than open technical collaboration.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC | 1 | -50% |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc | 0 | -100% |
| Protalix | 0 | — |
| GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB | 0 | — |
| Life Technologies Corp | 0 | — |
| Genentech Inc | 0 | — |
| Lonza AG | 0 | — |
| Baxter International Inc | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with concentrated ownership at the top and a cooling filing rate — the next step is testing specific claim language against it.
Check freedom-to-operate against the cited core
Before drafting gas-transfer hardware claims, run the specific mechanism — bubble diameter control, exhaust gas handling, sensor placement — against the most-cited stirred-tank and disposable bioreactor filings identified here.
Explore claims in Eureka →Track the leaders' pullback, not just their rank
Several top assignees show sharp year-over-year declines in filings. Watch whether that reflects portfolio consolidation, a shift to trade secrecy, or genuine white space opening up.
Monitor assignee activity in Eureka →Questions practitioners ask about this space
The assignee ranking behind this dataset covers 100 companies, with a single leader holding 90 of the 502 records in scope. The top five combined account for 260 records, or 51.8% of the field, and the top ten extend that to 72.5%. That leaves a long tail of smaller filers holding the remaining records individually or in small clusters.
Filing volume peaked at 60 records in 2023 after rising from 43 in 2017. The most reliable growth read is the 2021-to-2024 window, which shows a 63% decline from 27 to 10 filings. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so it is too early to call the most recent years a continued slowdown.
Every record in this scope carries a C12M bioreactor classification, but most also overlap with adjacent areas: B01F mixing and stirring appears in 18.7% of the 502 records, C12N microorganism and genetic engineering in 12.7%, and C07K peptide and protein claims in 11.8%. Separation processes under B01D show up in 11.2% of records. This overlap means most claims bundle the gas-transfer mechanism with agitation hardware or the biological process it serves, rather than filing gas transfer alone.
The most-cited record in this dataset is a stirred-tank reactor system with 292 citations, followed closely by a related filing at 253 and a disposable bioreactor culturing patent at 247. High citation counts inside a searched corpus tend to favour older, foundational filings, so these should be read as the claims that shaped later drafting conventions rather than a definitive infringement risk list — a proper freedom-to-operate check still requires claim-by-claim comparison.
Sub-areas with comparatively thin filing density include exhaust gas temperature control specific to single-use bag formats, in-line oxygen gradient sensing, valve-level gas exchange control overlapping F16K, and bubble diameter or superficial velocity calibration methods tuned to specific bag geometries at scale-up volumes. These sit adjacent to the dense core C12M and B01F claims but are not yet heavily claimed on their own, based on the class distribution in this dataset.
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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.