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CPC Subclass Not Allocatable
A61K

PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES (devices or methods specially adapted for bringing pharmaceutical products into particular physical or administering forms A61J3/00; chemical aspects of, or use of materials for deodorisation of air, for disinfection or sterilisation, or for bandages, dressings, absorbent pads or surgical articles A61L; soap compositions C11D)

Description

This subclass covers pharmaceutical formulations, medicinal preparations, and active ingredients intended for human medical and dental treatment, as well as cosmetic and hygiene products. It encompasses drugs in various forms (tablets, injections, creams, solutions), excipients, delivery systems, and the composition of these preparations. The classification includes cosmetics, toothpastes, and toiletry articles designed for personal care or prophylactic purposes. This subclass is complementary to A61C (dentistry) for dental devices and A61Q (specific hygiene preparations) for categorized cosmetic products, though formulation chemistry remains within A61K.

Filing statistics

CPC subclass A61K recorded 1,717,491 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 114,681 in 2013 to 125,843 in 2023 (+10%), peaking at 182,901 applications in 2016. The most active applicants in class A61 are PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (20,621 applications), NOVARTIS (15,792 applications) and ROCHE (14,303 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

22 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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  • A61K 2121/00 Preparations for use in therapy
  • A61K 2123/00 Preparations for testing in vivo
  • A61K 2300/00 Mixtures or combinations of active ingredients, wherein at least one active ingredient is fully defined in groups A61K31/00 - A61K41/00

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class A61, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

  1. PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NL 20,621
  2. NOVARTIS CH 15,792
  3. ROCHE CH 14,303
  4. COVIDIEN US 13,862
  5. HARVARD UNIVERSITY US 13,454
  6. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA US 12,798
  7. P&G (PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY) US 12,140
  8. L'OREAL FR 11,800
  9. OLYMPUS CORPORATION JP 9,894
  10. BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SCIMED US 9,513