PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A61

A61K - Preparations For Medical

Preparations for medical, dental or toiletry purposes. 151,067 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

151,067
US patents granted
#2/13
in A61
23.4%
A61 class share
-3%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Preparations For Medical ranks #7 of 670 CPC technology areas - 151,067 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 3% over five years.

#7
of 670 CPC technology areas
151,067
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Regents of the…
leading assignee (1,779)
-3%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A61K's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A61K recorded 61,376 grants versus 63,201 in 2015–2019 (-3% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 13,662 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 10,918 (+25% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee The Regents of the University of California holds 1.2% of the class ; the top three share 2.7%.

Leaderboard read

A61K concentration, lead at 1.2%

The Regents of the University of California leads this historical grant record at 1.2% of A61K - us corporation assignees hold 56% of class grants (70,719 of 126,589). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
1.2%

1,779 of 151,067 grants

Top three share
2.7%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
529

more grants than L'Oreal

Where A61K sits inside A61

Among 13 subclasses in A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61K ranks #2 and holds 23.4% of the parent class's 646,867 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A61B 162,009 A61P 125,535 A61M 57,639 A61F 50,959 A61N 30,889 A61L 25,308 A61Q 14,001 A61C 8,164

Rising assignees active in A61K

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 King Faisal University 125x 6 → 747 company-wide · 150 in A61K
  2. #2 Solventum Intellectual Properties Company 88x 0 → 88 company-wide · 36 in A61K
  3. #3 Boston Scientific Medical Device Limited 66x 0 → 66 company-wide · 6 in A61K
  4. #4 Totalenergies Onetech 65x 0 → 65 company-wide · 9 in A61K
  5. #5 Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. 49x 0 → 49 company-wide · 50 in A61K

A61K grants by year, peak 2020 (13,662)

US utility-patent grants per year in A61K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 3% versus 2015–2019.

8,00010,00012,00014,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 8,900

Who leads A61K?

The 12 most active assignees in Preparations FOR Medical, Dental OR Toiletry Purposes - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Regents of the… is the most active filer in A61K, holding 1,779 of the 151,067 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass A61K
Rank Company Patents in A61K
#1 The Regents of the University of California 1,779
#2 L'Oreal 1,250
#3 Novartis AG 988
#4 The Procter & Gamble Company 985
#5 The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System 950
#6 The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services 813
#7 The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania 768
#8 Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC 760
#9 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University 701
#10 Centre National DE LA Recherche Scientifique 683
#11 Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH 680
#12 Genentech, Inc. 673
#13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 639
#14 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 626
#15 THE Johns Hopkins University 615
#16 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 606
#17 Colgate-Palmolive Company 605
#18 The General Hospital Corporation 594
#19 President and Fellows of Harvard College 520
#20 University of Pittsburgh—Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education 488

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A61K assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A61K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 500100015002000 Patents in A61K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Regents of the…L'orealNovartisThe Procter & GambleThe Board of Regents…The United States of…The Trustees of the…Merck Sharp & DohmeThe Board of Trustees…Centre National De La…Immatics Biotechnologi…GenentechMassachusetts…Regeneron Pharmaceutic…
Top 14 A61K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A61K's 151,067-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A61K (#7 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.2%) - not the A61 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G06Q 144,635 A61B 162,009 H01L 165,178 G06T 131,672

Nearest by lead-assignee share

Y10T 1.2% Y02A 1.1% A61P 1.1% C07B 1.1%

Questions about A61K

Which company holds the most patents in A61K?
The Regents of the University of California leads A61K with 1,779 patents (1.2% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 56% of class grants.
Which A61K assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A61K, King Faisal University shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (125x: 6 grants in 2019–2021 → 747 in 2022–2024) while holding 150 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A61K compare inside parent class A61?
Inside A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61K ranks #2 of 13 subclasses by grant volume and holds 23.4% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A61B (162,009 grants).

What to do with this data

A61K in context - here's where to go next.

  • The Regents of the University of California leads A61K with 1,779 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • A61K ranks #7 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class A61, the largest sibling subclass is A61B with 162,009 grants. Explore A61B

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A61K figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (151,067 grants in the tracked window).

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.