ASSESSING CONCENTRATION IN THE MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY INNOVATION MARKET: A PATENT-BASED STUDY
Author(s)
André Soares Motta-Santos, PhD1, Leonardo Costa Ribeiro, PhD2, Kenya Valéria Micaela de Souza Noronha, PhD2, Korshed Alam, PhD3, Jeffrey Gow, PhD3, Mônica Viegas Andrade, PhD2.
1PhD Candidate, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and University of Southern Queensland, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2Department of Economics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 3School of Business, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia.
1PhD Candidate, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and University of Southern Queensland, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2Department of Economics, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 3School of Business, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia.
OBJECTIVES: This study aims to analyze concentration levels in the market for mAb innovations through a quantitative patent analysis.
METHODS: ta were analyzed using traditional concentration indicators such as the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and Concentration Ratio, as well as linear regression and kernel density graphs to evaluate innovation and global technology dissemination strategies. The starting point was patents associated with mAbs registered by the FDA and identified in the IQVIA database up until 2019, and supplemented by data from The Antibody Society, Purple Book, Orange Book, and FDA.
RESULTS: Our findings indicate that the market for mAb innovations is moderately concentrated for general patents and unconcentrated for priority patents. However, it is significantly more concentrated than the market for chemical drug innovations. The mAb patent families tend to generate more progeny patents, although they are deposited in fewer countries. Chemical drug patents spread faster. Some companies seem to be central to the development of mAbs worldwide, including Roche, PDL, City of Hope, and Celltech. Other important players in the mAb innovation market are AbbVie, Amgen, Novartis, GSK, Biogen, BMS, Regeneron, J&J, and AstraZeneca. The most relevant patents in the analysis are associated with methods and procedures to obtain mAbs, not with molecules themselves.
CONCLUSIONS: The concentration in the mAb innovation market is higher than the concentration in the market for chemical drugs innovations. Our findings also indicate that expertise in mAbs development and production is concentrated in a few countries. Additionally, our study identified that a few key players from high-income countries are driving innovation in the mAb market.
METHODS: ta were analyzed using traditional concentration indicators such as the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index and Concentration Ratio, as well as linear regression and kernel density graphs to evaluate innovation and global technology dissemination strategies. The starting point was patents associated with mAbs registered by the FDA and identified in the IQVIA database up until 2019, and supplemented by data from The Antibody Society, Purple Book, Orange Book, and FDA.
RESULTS: Our findings indicate that the market for mAb innovations is moderately concentrated for general patents and unconcentrated for priority patents. However, it is significantly more concentrated than the market for chemical drug innovations. The mAb patent families tend to generate more progeny patents, although they are deposited in fewer countries. Chemical drug patents spread faster. Some companies seem to be central to the development of mAbs worldwide, including Roche, PDL, City of Hope, and Celltech. Other important players in the mAb innovation market are AbbVie, Amgen, Novartis, GSK, Biogen, BMS, Regeneron, J&J, and AstraZeneca. The most relevant patents in the analysis are associated with methods and procedures to obtain mAbs, not with molecules themselves.
CONCLUSIONS: The concentration in the mAb innovation market is higher than the concentration in the market for chemical drugs innovations. Our findings also indicate that expertise in mAbs development and production is concentrated in a few countries. Additionally, our study identified that a few key players from high-income countries are driving innovation in the mAb market.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-05, ISPOR 2026, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue S6
Code
HPR36
Topic
Health Policy & Regulatory
Topic Subcategory
Pricing Policy & Schemes, Reimbursement & Access Policy
Disease
STA: Biologics & Biosimilars