PlainPatent

CPC technology class · G16

G16B - Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics, i.e. information and communication technology [ict] specially adapted for genetic or protein-related data processing in computational molecular biology. 6,310 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

6,310
US patents granted
#2/5
in G16
11.2%
G16 class share
+67%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Bioinformatics ranks #227 of 670 CPC technology areas - 6,310 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 67% over five years.

#227
of 670 CPC technology areas
6,310
US patents granted, 2015–2025
International Business…
leading assignee (144)
+67%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How G16B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, G16B recorded 3,304 grants versus 1,983 in 2015–2019 (+67% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2023 at 738 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 278 (+165% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Illumina, Inc. holds 2.0% of the class ; the top three share 5.5%.

Leaderboard read

G16B concentration, lead at 2.0%

Illumina, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 2.0% of G16B - us corporation assignees hold 76% of class grants (2,840 of 3,726). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
2.0%

129 of 6,310 grants

Top three share
5.5%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
16

more grants than Life Technologies Corporation

Where G16B sits inside G16

Among 5 subclasses in G16 (Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR Specific Application Fields), G16B ranks #2 and holds 11.2% of the parent class's 56,268 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

G16H 42,899 G16Z 3,767 G16Y 1,652 G16C 1,640

Rising assignees active in G16B

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 Optum Services (Ireland) Limited 26x 3 → 77 company-wide · 11 in G16B
  2. #2 Neumora Therapeutics, Inc. 16x 0 → 16 company-wide · 6 in G16B
  3. #3 Catalog Technologies, Inc. 12x 1 → 12 company-wide · 9 in G16B
  4. #4 Peptilogics, Inc. 10x 1 → 10 company-wide · 9 in G16B
  5. #5 Billiontoone, Inc. 9.00x 0 → 9 company-wide · 8 in G16B

G16B grants by year, peak 2023 (738)

US utility-patent grants per year in G16B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 67% versus 2015–2019.

200400600800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 485

Who leads G16B?

The 12 most active assignees in Bioinformatics, i.e. Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR Genetic OR Protein-related Data Processing IN Computational Molecular Biology - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows International… is the most active filer in G16B, holding 144 of the 6,310 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 G16B
Rank Company Patents in G16B
#1 Illumina, Inc. 129
#2 Life Technologies Corporation 113
#3 Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH 107
#4 Guardant Health, Inc. 101
#5 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University 87
#6 Heartflow, Inc. 86
#7 23andMe, Inc. 77
#8 The Chinese University of Hong Kong 74
#9 Seven Bridges Genomics Inc. 60
#10 uBiome, Inc. 58
#11 Natera, Inc. 56
#12 The Broad Institute, Inc. 44
#13 Sequenom, Inc. 42
#14 Nant Holdings IP, LLC 37
#15 10x Genomics, Inc. 37
#16 KPN Innovations LLC 36
#17 Ancestry.com DNA, LLC 36
#18 Grail, Inc. 35
#19 Personalis, Inc. 34
#20 Verinata Health, Inc. 33

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading G16B 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 G16B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G16B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 1015202530 050100150 Patents in G16B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) IlluminaLifeImmatics Biotechnologi…Guardant HealthThe Board of Trustees…Heartflow23andmeThe Chinese University…Seven Bridges GenomicsubiomeNateraThe Broad InstituteSequenomNant Holdings Ip
Top 14 G16B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in G16B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near G16B's 6,310-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for G16B (#227 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.3%) - not the G16 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

A01G 6,293 E04H 6,263 B41M 6,377 B25B 6,226

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A23V 2.3% B22D 2.3% H01S 2.3% C08G 2.3%

Questions about G16B

Which company holds the most patents in G16B?
International Business Machines Corporation leads G16B with 144 patents (2.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 76% of class grants.
Which G16B assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in G16B, Optum Services (Ireland) Limited shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (26x: 3 grants in 2019–2021 → 77 in 2022–2024) while holding 11 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does G16B compare inside parent class G16?
Inside G16 (Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR Specific Application Fields), G16B ranks #2 of 5 subclasses by grant volume and holds 11.2% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is G16H (42,899 grants).

What to do with this data

G16B in context - here's where to go next.

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

Methodology - G16B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (6,310 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.