Technology Topic

Pharmaceutical Patent Classification

Drug patents classify along three axes. A61K covers the medicinal preparation: active ingredients, formulations, delivery systems, and is among the highest-volume subclasses of the classification.

A61P indexes the therapeutic activity, what the drug treats, and the underlying small-molecule chemistry classifies in C07D for heterocyclic compounds, the workhorse chemistry of most drugs.

The classification codes that matter

A61K 1,792,627 filings 2013–2023

PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES

Medicinal preparations: active ingredients, formulations and drug-delivery systems.

2018 → 2023: 169,972 → 132,650 filings (-22 %)

A61P 1,178,026 filings 2013–2023

SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS

Therapeutic activity: the indication axis, assigned alongside A61K since 2000.

2018 → 2023: 108,368 → 99,310 filings (-8 %)

C07D 508,449 filings 2013–2023

HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS

Heterocyclic compounds: the core chemistry of most small-molecule drugs.

2018 → 2023: 48,954 → 37,848 filings (-23 %)

Who files here: top applicants

1 CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 24,652
2 NOVARTIS (CH) 23,609
3 ROCHE (CH) 23,352
4 PHILIPS ELECTRONICS (NL) 18,523
5 HARVARD UNIVERSITY (US) 17,786

IPC filings 2013–2023, aggregated across the codes above. Source: EPO PATSTAT.

Not sure which code fits?

Describe your technology in plain language and get matching IPC and CPC codes:

Try the AI classifier