The expansion of antibody therapeutics beyond oncology into chronic and degenerative diseases has heightened the need to grasp the global patent landscape for assessing intellectual property (IP) competitiveness. We analyzed patent filing and grant trends of antibody therapeutics for chronic and degenerative diseases across the five major intellectual property offices (IP5).

Across the IP5 from 2004 to 2025, 3,944 applications were filed and 2,112 patents granted. Filings remained stable through 2014, then rose sharply from 2015 and peaked at 280 in 2020; grants increased from 2012 and reached a maximum of 178 in 2021. The marked rise in filings from 2015 is attributed to expanding approvals of antibody therapeutics, which stimulated related patenting. By nationality, US and European applicants accounted for 45.3% and 31.4% of filings, respectively, followed by Chinese and Japanese applicants (8.1% each) and Korean applicants (2.5%). The top 10 applicants, mostly global big pharmaceutical companies, accounted for 30.7% of all filings.

The patent landscape was dominated by US and European applicants and established global pharmaceuticals. This pattern indicates that their R&D capabilities confer critical competitive advantage, given the complex disease mechanisms and prolonged clinical validation required. These findings may serve as a foundation for strategic R&D planning and IP portfolio management to consolidate competitive IP standing.