CAR-based cell therapy: evaluation with bibliometrics and patent analysis

Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2021 Nov 2;17(11):4374-4382. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2021.1947100. Epub 2021 Jun 29.

Abstract

Chimeric antigen receptors-based cell therapies have shown impressive preclinical and clinical success and revolutionized biomedicine. However, the link between science and invention, the impact of international cooperation, and the influence and prestige of CARs research have not been explored. This study analyzed the landscape of peer-reviewed articles and patents related to CARs. A total of 5,681 publications were analyzed using bibliometrics and machine learning-based text mining to assess publication metrics, subject areas, and research hotspots. 5,010 Inpadoc families were also analyzed for patent filing trends, priority countries, and applicant and inventor rankings. The results show that CARs research has the following distinctive features: high research prestige among research community; strong global geographical bias in both academic output and patenting patterns; strong links between science and invention, but significant differences among countries; and an inverse relationship between country size and international collaboration rates.

Keywords: CAR T cell therapy; Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs); bibliometrics; patent landscape; research hotspots.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bibliometrics*
  • Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy
  • Data Mining
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy, Adoptive*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Zhejiang Soft Science Research Program [Grant 2019C35070].