Stirred-Tank Bioreactor Sensor Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- Filing peaked in 2022 at 17 records then eased off — a pattern more consistent with a claims plateau than a cooling field, since publication lag understates the most recent years.
- One assignee leads with 21 records while fifth place holds only 9 and tenth place just 2, showing a steep drop-off rather than a broad, even field of competitors.
- C12M and C12N dominate the class mix at 98.9% and 60.2% of the 93 records respectively, while mixing-specific B01F claims sit at just 4.3% — a narrow, largely open branch.
What this patent set covers
This landscape tracks patents at the intersection of stirred-tank and agitated bioreactor hardware with sensor and connector integration: optical probes, pressure and temperature sensing, probe position, sterile connectors, and signal isolation across the vessel wall. The scope is defined by IPC classes C12M1/02, B01F27/00 and C12M3/00 combined with the relevant sensor and connector terms, capturing hardware and process-monitoring claims rather than the broader universe of cell-culture media or genetic-engineering patents.
93 published records fall within scope between 2015 and the mid-2026 data cut-off. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend chart will read lower than the true filing volume once those applications publish.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 93-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claims.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings rose from 2 records in 2017 to a peak of 17 in 2022, the single busiest year in the dataset. 2026 figures are partial because the data cut-off falls mid-year and recent filings have not all published yet, so the true trajectory beyond 2022 is not yet fully visible.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
C12M (bioreactors and enzyme apparatus) appears in 98.9% of the 93 records, confirming this is a vessel-hardware-centric dataset by construction. C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) reaches 60.2%, reflecting how often sensor and connector claims are bundled with cell-culture process claims. B01F (mixing and stirring) sits at only 4.3%, and B01L (lab apparatus) at 20.4% — both comparatively thin bands given how central agitation and fluidics are to the underlying hardware.
Shares are the percentage of the 93 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Stirred-Tank Bioreactor Sensor Integration with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about stirred-tank bioreactor sensor integration and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative claim: WO2018209133A1
Miniature stirred-tank bioreactor with in-wall sensor and probe placement (WO2018209133A1)
The filing describes a miniature stirred-tank bioreactor and system configured for single-use culturing, with an unobstructed culturing volume and sensors, probes and ports placed using minimally invasive in-wall or across-the-wall methods. The design further supports scaffolds and surface structures for cell and tissue growth, plus screens for retaining microparticles during media exchange.Filed by SHEVITZ, JERRY; published 2018-11-15.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20180010082A1 | Bioreactor With Higher Agitation Rates | 79 |
| 2 | WO2014020327A1 | Bioreactor vessels and associated bioreactor systems | 31 |
| 3 | US20230065504A1 | Platforms and systems for automated cell culture | 30 |
| 4 | US11447745B2 | End-to-end cell therapy automation | 28 |
| 5 | WO2016207859A1 | Manufacturing device and process for personalized delivery vector-based immunotherapy | 26 |
| 6 | EP2270129A2 | Bioreactor systems and associated methods of processing bioreactor vessels | 26 |
| 7 | US11371018B2 | End-to-end cell therapy automation | 25 |
| 8 | US20090233360A1 | Methods and Compositions for Culturing of neural Precursor Cells | 20 |
| 9 | US20170204361A1 | Manufacturing device and process for personalized delivery vector-based immunotherapy | 18 |
| 10 | US20200071670A1 | End-to-end cell therapy automation | 17 |
Ranked by citation count within the searched corpus; older records accumulate more citations by nature of being in circulation longer, so treat this as a signal of influence rather than current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the filing pattern actually indicates
Three readings of the same underlying dataset, each pointing to a different decision a filer or licensor would need to make.
A steep drop-off, not a flat field
The leading assignee holds 21 records against just 2 at tenth place and 9 at fifth. That gap suggests one or two players built a defensible position early rather than the field staying open to many equal entrants.
Activity crested in 2022
Filings climbed from 2 in 2017 to 17 in 2022 before easing. Given the 18-month publication lag, some of the apparent decline after 2022 will fill in as later applications publish, so it is premature to call this a cooling field.
Tight co-filing among a small cluster
Only three co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, and each links the same small cluster of related entities at a shared count of 19. That points to internal corporate structure — related units filing jointly — rather than broad cross-company collaboration.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to stirred-tank bioreactor sensor integration, with the prior art for and against each one.
The assignee landscape
21 companies make up the entire ranking this dataset returns — not a top-50 or top-100 cut, the full list the data endpoint holds for this scope. The leader files well ahead of the rest, with the ranking thinning quickly beyond fifth place.
A single filer well ahead of the pack
The top assignee's 21 records dwarf the ninth or tenth position's 2, indicating a concentrated core of foundational filings around single-use, automated stirred-tank platforms rather than a fragmented field of small filers.
A meaningful second tier
Fifth place holds 9 records — enough to represent a genuine competing platform rather than a single opportunistic filing, but still less than half the leader's count.
Recent-year activity reads flat, likely a lag artefact
Every assignee tracked for recent-year momentum shows 0 filings in the latest year. Given the 18-month publication lag, this almost certainly reflects filings still in the pipeline rather than an actual halt in R&D.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Lonza Walkersville Inc | 0 | — |
| CELLINO BIOTECH INC | 0 | — |
| Lonza Cologne AG | 0 | — |
| Octane Biotech Inc | 0 | — |
| The Automation Partnership (Cambridge) Ltd | 0 | — |
| Advaxis Inc | 0 | — |
| Distek Inc | 0 | — |
| General Electric Company | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next questions rather than a single verdict — each one is better worked through against the full record set than summarised in a paragraph.
Map the leader's claim boundaries
With 21 records against a fifth-place count of 9, the top assignee's portfolio is worth reading claim-by-claim to see exactly how far its in-wall sensor and connector claims reach before a design-around becomes viable.
Explore the leader's portfolio in EurekaTest a B01F-specific filing
Mixing and stirring claims (B01F) sit at only 4.3% of the 93 records, well below the C12M and C12N shares. A claim scoped tightly to agitation-integrated sensing rather than the vessel as a whole may find open space.
Run a white-space check in EurekaWatch for the 2023–2026 publication catch-up
Recent-year counts read low across the board because of publication lag. Re-running this trend in a year will reveal whether 2022's peak was a high point or a plateau.
Set a monitoring alert in EurekaCommon questions on this landscape
One assignee leads the ranked list with 21 records, well ahead of the field — fifth place holds only 9 and tenth place just 2. That drop-off indicates a concentrated core of early, foundational filings around single-use and automated stirred-tank platforms rather than many companies holding roughly equal shares. Reviewing that leader's claim scope closely is the most useful starting point before filing anything adjacent.
Filing rose from 2 records in 2017 to a peak of 17 in 2022, then appears to ease off in the years since. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the apparent decline after 2022 is likely overstated — some of those years will fill in as pending applications publish. Treat the post-2022 numbers as provisional rather than a confirmed slowdown.
C12M (bioreactors and enzyme apparatus) appears in 98.9% of the 93 records in scope, essentially universal given the search scope, and C12N (microorganisms and genetic engineering) reaches 60.2%, reflecting how often sensor claims are bundled with cell-culture process claims. By contrast, B01F (mixing and stirring) sits at just 4.3% and B01L (lab apparatus) at 20.4%, both comparatively thin given how central agitation is to the hardware. That imbalance is a useful signal for where claim space remains lighter.
The technology composition data points toward mixing-specific sensor integration (B01F, only 4.3% of records) and in-wall probe sealing or signal isolation methods as comparatively under-claimed relative to the dominant C12M and C12N bands. A first claim narrowly scoped to agitation-coupled sensing — rather than the vessel or culture process broadly — is more likely to avoid the leader's dense prior art. Confirming this requires a claim-level read of the leading assignee's portfolio, not just the class-level shares.
WO2018209133A1 describes a miniature single-use stirred-tank bioreactor with sensors, probes and ports placed via minimally invasive in-wall or across-the-wall methods, plus scaffold and microparticle-retention features. Its core contribution is the placement method for sensors and probes relative to the vessel wall, which is a fairly specific mechanical approach rather than a claim over sensing in bioreactors generally. Anyone designing a competing system should read its claims closely to see whether their probe-mounting geometry falls inside or outside that specific in-wall approach.
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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.