Nanomedicine: a retrospective and a glimpse into the future

Having recently attended and exhibited at the exciting and forward-thinking NanoMed Europe 2023 #NME conference organized by the British Society for Nanomedicine (BSNM), the European Nanomedicine Technology Platform (ETPN), The University of Liverpool and the European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group (ELRIG), the following are my reflections on the state of innovation in nanomedicine.

It is clear that the realm of nanomedicine offers new opportunities and solutions for diagnosing, treating, and preventing diseases at the cellular and molecular levels. By harnessing the unique properties of nanoscale materials and devices, nanomedicine has begun to revolutionize healthcare by providing targeted therapies, enhanced diagnostics, and improved patient outcomes.

One of the earliest breakthroughs in nanomedicine was the utilization of nanoparticles for drug delivery. In the late 1980s, researchers began exploring the potential of nanoscale carriers to transport therapeutic agents directly to disease sites, increasing drug efficacy while minimizing side effects. Liposomes, tiny lipid-based vesicles, were among the first nanoparticles used for drug delivery. These lipid structures offered improved biocompatibility and controlled drug release. More recently, the technology has developed to offer lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) as vehicles for delivery of a variety of therapeutics, including mRNA. 

Nanomedicine has also transformed diagnostic techniques, enabling earlier and more accurate disease detection. Nanoparticles, due to their small size and unique optical properties, can serve as contrast agents for various imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and fluorescence imaging. Quantum dots, for example, can emit intense fluorescence when excited, providing high-resolution imaging for cancer diagnostics.

Moreover, nanosensors have emerged as powerful tools for disease detection. These devices can detect specific biomarkers or molecular signatures associated with diseases, offering rapid and sensitive diagnostics. Nanosensors have shown promise in detecting infectious agents, monitoring glucose levels in diabetes, and identifying genetic mutations.

The field of nanomedicine continues to evolve rapidly, with ongoing efforts to tackle diseases such as Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disorders, and infectious diseases. Scientists are exploring multifunctional nanoparticles capable of simultaneously delivering drugs, imaging diseased tissues, and monitoring therapeutic responses.

The history of nanomedicine showcases the remarkable progress made in merging nanotechnology with medicine. Such symbiosis continues today – as evidenced in the recent NanoMed Europe 2023 conference - with exciting developments in this broad field being presented. 

Patent Information

As a patent attorney, patent filing and publication numbers provide me with a measure of innovation. These numbers can be ‘cut’ in many different ways, including by dates, by specific technology area, by entity or groups of entities, by geography, to name but a few.  For the following high-level analysis, a particular subset of European, U.K. and International (PCT) patent applications published in the period from 1 January 2012 to mid-June 2023 were selected. These had been categorized by International Patent Classification (IPC) codes and with use of keywords relevant to ‘nanotechnology’ broadly, leading to almost 4,700 results. 

The plot below shows how the numbers of these applications published has varied over this period – being over 400 per year in all full years except 2015-2019, and over 450 in 2021 and 2022.

Focusing on published European applications specifically being coded as ‘nanobiotechnology or nanomedicine’ – using the IPC code B82Y 5/00 – and looking at European applicants located in any of the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, there were just over 150 results. 

It goes without saying that any results based on classification codes are only as good as the classification per se; some documents will have been incorrectly classified. However, for present purposes of a high-level review, the results have been taken at face value. 

The top ten list of filers by number of published applications (according to the criteria above) is shown below. Unsurprisingly, BioNTech SE (DE) is top of the list.

In terms of international (PCT) applications published by the European applicants listed above with the same IPC code (B82Y 5/00) in the same period, there were fewer than 250 results. The top ten filers by number were:

Interestingly, there were only slightly more (almost 200) published European applications and approximately double (just over 450) the number of published PCT applications classified with the same IPC code (B82Y 5/00) in the same period filed by US applicants, but over 1,000 published US applications compared with over 750 published US applications filed by the above European applicants.  

A different way of ‘cutting’ the numbers was then used: for the same subset of European applicant countries, in the same time period, the IPC code was broadened from B82Y 5/00 to B82Y (specific uses of applications of nanostructures; measurement of analysis of nanostructures; manufacture of treatment of nanostructures), and this was combined with another relevant classification code, A61K 47/00 (medicinal preparations characterised by the non-active ingredients used, e.g. carriers or inert additives). There were fewer than 100 published European patent applications. 

The top ten list of filers by number of published applications (according to the criteria above) is shown below.  Again, BioNTech SE (DE) is top of the list. 

In terms of international (PCT) applications published by the European applicants listed above with the same IPC code combination in the same period, there were similarly just under 100 results.  The top ten filers by number were:

Following a similar pattern as above, there were just under 100 published European applications and over 150 published PCT applications classified with the same IPC code combination in the same period by US applicants, but almost 700 published US applications compared with over 300 published US applications filed by the above European applicants.  

Whilst there is clearly significant research being undertaken in Europe – it was a privilege to be in the company of some of the European applicants in the lists above at the conference – there is more to be done. Briefly considering patent applications published on a global basis in the last 18 months alone by any applicant:

• with the IPC code B82Y 5/00, there were over 1,000 results,
• with the IPC code combination of A61K 47/00 plus B82Y, there were over 750 results.

Together, Chinese and US applicants dominate the top one hundred list of filing entities by number, with Chinese applicants being responsible for the majority of the filings in each set of results. 

Conferences such as NanoMed Europe provide an important opportunity for attendees to learn from each other, to collaborate and to drive forward British and European research and development – with accompanying patent filings – to ensure the immense potential of nanomedicine is fully realised for the benefit of us all.