PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A61

A61L - Methods Or Apparatus For Sterilising Materials Or Objects…

Methods or apparatus for sterilising materials or objects in general; disinfection, sterilisation or deodorisation of air; chemical aspects of bandages, dressings, absorbent pads or surgical articles; materials for bandages, dressings, absorbent pads or surgical articles. 25,308 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

25,308
US patents granted
#7/13
in A61
3.9%
A61 class share
+4%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Methods Or Apparatus For Sterilising Materials Or Objects… ranks #81 of 670 CPC technology areas - 25,308 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 4% over five years.

#81
of 670 CPC technology areas
25,308
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Procter & Gamble
leading assignee (378)
+4%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A61L's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A61L recorded 11,121 grants versus 10,725 in 2015–2019 (+4% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 2,387 grants and bottomed in 2018 at 1,978 (+21% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee The Procter & Gamble Company holds 1.5% of the class ; the top three share 3.6%.

Leaderboard read

A61L concentration, lead at 1.5%

The Procter & Gamble Company leads this historical grant record at 1.5% of A61L - us corporation assignees hold 67% of class grants (11,089 of 16,632). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
1.5%

378 of 25,308 grants

Top three share
3.6%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
101

more grants than Ethicon, Inc.

Where A61L sits inside A61

Among 13 subclasses in A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61L ranks #7 and holds 3.9% 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 A61K 151,067 A61P 125,535 A61M 57,639 A61F 50,959 A61N 30,889 A61Q 14,001 A61C 8,164

Rising assignees active in A61L

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 Solventum Intellectual Properties Company 88x 0 → 88 company-wide · 24 in A61L
  2. #2 Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. 49x 0 → 49 company-wide · 9 in A61L
  3. #3 Imam Mohammad IBN Saud Islamic University 27x 0 → 27 company-wide · 5 in A61L
  4. #4 Bausch + Lomb Ireland Limited 15x 0 → 15 company-wide · 9 in A61L
  5. #5 Lumenlabs LLC 11x 0 → 11 company-wide · 11 in A61L

A61L grants by year, peak 2020 (2,387)

US utility-patent grants per year in A61L, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 4% versus 2015–2019.

1,6001,8002,0002,2002,4002,600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,718

Who leads A61L?

The 12 most active assignees in Methods OR Apparatus FOR Sterilising Materials OR Objects IN GENERAL; Disinfection, Sterilisation OR Deodorisation OF AIR; Chemical Aspects OF Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical ARTICLES; Materials FOR Bandages, Dressings, Absorbent Pads OR Surgical Articles - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Procter & Gamble is the most active filer in A61L, holding 378 of the 25,308 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 A61L
Rank Company Patents in A61L
#1 The Procter & Gamble Company 378
#2 Ethicon, Inc. 277
#3 Abbott Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. 252
#4 Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. 240
#5 Covidien LP 174
#6 Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc. 167
#7 DePuy Synthes Products, Inc. 161
#8 W.L. Gore & Associates GmbH 146
#9 University of Pittsburgh—Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education 135
#10 Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha 126
#11 Ecolab USA Inc. 121
#12 The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System 107
#13 KCI Licensing, Inc. 104
#14 S. C. Johnson & SON, Inc. 104
#15 Cook Medical Technologies LLC 95
#16 Edwards Lifesciences Corporation 95
#17 Medtronic Vascular, Inc. 95
#18 Smith & Nephew, Inc. 91
#19 Becton, Dickinson and Company 86
#20 Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd. 84

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A61L 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 A61L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 0100200300400 Patents in A61L Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The Procter & GambleEthiconAbbott Cardiovascular…Boston Scientific…CovidienWarsaw OrthopedicDepuy Synthes ProductsW L Gore & AssociatesUniversity of…TerumoEcolab UsaThe Board of Regents…Kci LicensingS C Johnson & Son
Top 14 A61L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A61L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A61L's 25,308-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A61L (#81 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.5%) - not the A61 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H10H 25,379 G08B 25,403 F01D 24,492 H01J 24,482

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G01K 1.5% C07H 1.5% C07K 1.5% C07D 1.5%

Questions about A61L

Which company holds the most patents in A61L?
The Procter & Gamble Company leads A61L with 378 patents (1.5% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 67% of class grants.
Which A61L assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A61L, Solventum Intellectual Properties Company shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (88x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 88 in 2022–2024) while holding 24 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does A61L compare inside parent class A61?
Inside A61 (Medical OR Veterinary SCIENCE; Hygiene), A61L ranks #7 of 13 subclasses by grant volume and holds 3.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A61B (162,009 grants).

What to do with this data

A61L in context - here's where to go next.

  • The Procter & Gamble Company leads A61L with 378 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • A61L ranks #81 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 - A61L figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (25,308 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.