Patent applications related to ESG increased by 3% per year on average in the medical industry since 2020

The global medical industry experienced a 3% increase in annual average growth rate (AAGR) in the number of ESG-related patent applications between 2020 and 2022. The total number of ESG-related grants increased by an AAGR of 8% during the same period, according to GlobalData's patent analytics database.  

Notably, the number of ESG-related patent applications in the medical industry was 15,265 since 2020, while 9,006 applications were granted.

Analysis of patent applications by company shows that DexCom filed the most ESG patents within the medical industry since 2020. The company filed 247 ESG-related patents since 2020.  

It was followed by Johnson & Johnson (199 applications), Medtronic (127 applications), Japan Tobacco (117 applications) and ResMed (104 applications).  

Analysis of patent grants by companies shows that DexCom was granted 198 patents related to ESG within the medical industry since 2020. It was followed by Johnson & Johnson (191 grants), Medtronic (115 grants), Japan Tobacco (75 grants) and DEKA Research and Development (49 grants).

The largest share of ESG-related patent publications in the medical industry since 2020 was held by China with 31%, followed by the US (30%) and Japan (9%).

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.  

GlobalData’s Patents Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official patent offices around the world. Proprietary analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries