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Corporate Patent Productivity In Plastic And Reconstructive Surgery: A 10-year Analysis
Kathleen Gu, BS, Lee D. Yang, BS, Alexander F. Dagi, AB MPhil, Christine H. Rohde, MD MPH, Jarrod T. Bogue, MD.
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
PURPOSE: Corporate innovation shapes adoption patterns in plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS), yet literature centers on the academic space. Building on prior studies of academic patent productivity, we quantified corporate patent activity by leading PRS companies over the last decade.
METHODS: Principal PRS-relevant companies were identified by cross-referencing public market lists and professional society listings. We used Lens.org to aggregate granted and pending U.S. filings from 2015-2025. Records were screened for relevance, categorized by manual review, and classified by CPC subclass. Variables included portfolio size and concentration, inventorship, family data, and bibliometrics.
RESULTS: The dataset comprised 1,288 patents in 550 simple families across 10 parent companies. Johnson & Johnson (Ethicon, Mentor) accounted for 74% (956/1288) of filings, followed by AbbVie (Allergan) with 6.8% (88/1288). Category distribution favored Instruments/Devices (55%, 711/1288), then Methods/Systems/Techniques (36%, 460/1288) and Materials/Tissue Engineering (9%, 117/1288). Common subclasses included surgical instruments (81%, 1045/1288,), prostheses/implants (20%, 260/1288), and biomaterials (15%, 193/1288). Median extended family size was 10, reflecting international prosecution. Citation impact was concentrated in a subset of filings, with a median of 2.8 citations/year (IQR 0.6-37). Inventorship was team-based (median 3 inventors/patent); corporate entities held 100% of assignees, with university or state co-assignment in 1%.
CONCLUSIONS: Corporate PRS patent filing is dominated by instruments and devices. These patterns contextualize academic innovation and translation, highlight underrepresented domains, and inform collaboration, funding, and policy.
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