Global vaccine patent applications grew by 7% in the year to June 2025, rising to 1220 from 1135 the previous year, according to property (IP) law firm Mathys & Squire.
Vaccine patent applications increased dramatically after the COVID pandemic, with 15% growth recorded in 2023/24, when patent applications increased from 983 to 1135.
The volume of applications is up 129% compared with 2018/19, when there were just 542.
Interestingly, there has been a clear shift in vaccine strategy adopted by pharmaceutical companies in this short period of time.
Mathys & Squire stated that traditional vaccine technologies, such as toxoid vaccines and attenuated vaccines, are being replaced by safer, more versatile technologies, including mRNA vaccines.
Patent applications for RNA vaccines now dominate, increasing 31% from 344 to 449 in 2024/25, compared with only 20 in the year 2018/19.
RNA vaccines deliver a small immune-triggering part of the virus directly into a cell.
In contrast, more traditional vaccines, such as the tetanus vaccine, include ‘toxoid’ vaccine types, which use inactive toxins to prompt an immune response.
Subunit vaccines use proteins to trigger an immune response.
Consistent with this shift to new technologies, toxoid vaccines saw the sharpest drop in patent applications, with filings down 28% to 97 in 2024/25, from 134 the previous year. Inactivated vaccines saw a 5% drop to 264, from 279 in 2023/24.
Mathys & Squire also concluded that the success of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine shows that using these newer and more agile technologies can deliver effective protection at a lower cost than conventional vaccines.
There are also significant safety benefits to the newer technologies.
Traditional vaccines, such as live attenuated vaccines or toxoid vaccines, often require the culture of large quantities of the microbes. This requires expensive equipment and reagents and can be associated with safety and containment concerns.
On the other hand, the genetic material used in RNA vaccines is comparatively cheap and easy to produce.
"Additionally, since RNA vaccines do not contain a pathogen, either active or inactive, they are not infectious, making them safer for patients, clinicians and those involved in their manufacture," said Martin MacLean, Partner at Mathys & Squire.
However, Mathys & Squire warned that anti-vaccine comments from parts of the new US administration risk a slowdown in vaccine R&D.
Martin MacLean said: "Vaccine development is an expensive process."
"Mixed messaging from the Government could deter new investment – and therefore limit the number of new vaccines that can be developed and patented."