CPC technology class · C07

C07D - Heterocyclic Compounds

Heterocyclic compounds. 54,914 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

54,914
US patents granted: #2/8
in C07: 31.2%
C07 class share: -25%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Heterocyclic Compounds ranks #27 of 670 CPC technology areas - 54,914 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 25% over five years.

#27
of 670 CPC technology areas: 54,914
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Samsung
leading assignee (847): -25%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How C07D's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, C07D recorded 19,895 grants versus 26,420 in 2015–2019 (-25% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2015 at 5,798 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 3,423 (+69% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC holds 1.5% of the class ; the top three share 3.7%.

Leaderboard read

C07D concentration, lead at 1.5%

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC leads this historical grant record at 1.5% of C07D - us corporation assignees hold 50% of class grants (22,998 of 45,632). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 1.5%
Top three share: 3.7%
Lead over #2: 143

Where C07D sits inside C07

Among 8 subclasses in C07 (Organic Chemistry), C07D ranks #2 and holds 31.2% of the parent class's 176,064 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

C07K 58,046 C07C 32,521 C07F 14,249 C07B 8,058 C07H 6,464 C07J 1,454 C07G 358

Rising assignees active in C07D

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 Wuhan Tianma Microelectronics Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch 142x 0 → 142 company-wide · 23 in C07D
#2 King Faisal University 125x 6 → 747 company-wide · 413 in C07D
#3 Shell USA, Inc. 110x 0 → 110 company-wide · 10 in C07D
#4 Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. 49x 0 → 49 company-wide · 27 in C07D
#5 SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. 27x 1 → 27 company-wide · 8 in C07D

C07D grants by year, peak 2015 (5,798)

US utility-patent grants per year in C07D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 25% versus 2015–2019.

Merck Sharp & Dohme

805
Bristol-myers Squibb

662
Merck Patent

587
Incyte

566
Novartis

544
Basf Se

526
Janssen Pharmaceutical…

492
Hoffmann-la Roche

455
The Regents of the…

426
King Faisal University

413
Gilead Sciences

413
Lg Chem

381

What this shows Samsung is the most active filer in C07D, holding 847 of the 54,914 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass C07D
Rank	Company	Patents in C07D
#1	Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC	805
#2	Bristol-Myers Squibb Company	662
#3	Merck Patent GmbH	587
#4	Incyte Corporation	566
#5	Novartis AG	544
#6	Basf SE	526
#7	Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	492
#8	Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.	455
#9	The Regents of the University of California	426
#10	King Faisal University	413
#11	Gilead Sciences, Inc.	413
#12	LG Chem, Ltd.	381
#13	Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited	364
#14	Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH	359
#15	Genentech, Inc.	334
#16	Pfizer Inc.	325
#17	Abb Vie Inc.	284
#18	Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited	272
#19	Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.	269
#20	Centre National DE LA Recherche Scientifique	268

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading C07D 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 C07D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in C07D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near C07D's 54,914-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for C07D (#27 of 670 by volume ; lead share 1.5%) - not the C07 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G11C 53,783 G01R 53,716 B29C 53,431 G02F 52,876

Nearest by lead-assignee share

C07K 1.5% B01L 1.6% Y02W 1.6% C07H 1.5%

Questions about C07D

Which company holds the most patents in C07D?

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. leads C07D with 847 patents (1.5% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 50% of class grants.

Which C07D assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in C07D, Wuhan Tianma Microelectronics Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (142x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 142 in 2022–2024) while holding 23 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does C07D compare inside parent class C07?

Inside C07 (Organic Chemistry), C07D ranks #2 of 8 subclasses by grant volume and holds 31.2% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is C07K (58,046 grants).

What to do with this data

C07D in context - here's where to go next.

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC leads C07D with 805 grants in this class. See full portfolio
C07D ranks #27 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class C07, the largest sibling subclass is C07K with 58,046 grants. Explore C07K

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

Methodology - C07D figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (54,914 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.