Global patent statistical analysis for drug testing technology

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, illicit drug testing has become a high priority area in law enforcement and forensic analysis. OBJECTIVE: Since patents are the largest source of technical information in the world, patent database analysis for illicit drug testing is extremely important to effectively promote the development and protection of the related intellectual property rights. METHODS: In the present study, we first retrieve a database of 1732 drug detection patents using keywords and logical expressions related to the title, abstract, and claims, and subsequently discuss the current global patent statistics in detail. RESULTS: The relevant patent information is presented, including patent application quantity, filing country, ownership, and technical field. CONCLUSIONS: Finally, we summarize the current development trend in drug testing and propose several suggestions focused on the bottleneck of analytical techniques.