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Johnson & Johnson is a US-based healthcare company and one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, with a patent portfolio spanning small-molecule and biologic drugs, oncology, immunology, neuroscience and infectious-disease therapeutics, vaccines, antibody and protein engineering, drug formulation and delivery, surgical instruments and staplers, orthopaedics and joint replacement, cardiovascular and electrophysiology devices, endoluminal and interventional systems, wound closure, surgical robotics, and contact lens and vision-care technologies. Its filings cover therapeutic compounds and biologics, dosing and formulation, medical device design and materials, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, diagnostic and monitoring systems, and biomanufacturing processes. Following the separation of its consumer health business, the company now operates through two segments, Innovative Medicine and MedTech, and the portfolio reflects nearly 140 years of healthcare research across multiple decades and jurisdictions.
Johnson & Johnson’s patent portfolio comprises 259,639 patents distributed across 40,498 simple families and 49,917 extended families. This is the largest portfolio in this report series. It spans 95 jurisdictions, the broadest geographic coverage recorded, and includes patents associated with pharmaceuticals, biologics, medical devices, surgery, diagnostics, and vision care.
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Johnson & Johnson’s portfolio consists of 108,303 active assets and 151,215 inactive assets. Active holdings include 60,791 granted patents and 47,512 patent applications, the largest active application base in this series and a reflection of the company’s deep and continuously replenished pharmaceutical and device pipeline. The large inactive base, led by abandoned applications and patents expired due to term, is characteristic of a research portfolio accumulated over nearly 140 years.
Johnson & Johnson’s patents span 95 jurisdictions, with the United States accounting for the largest share of filings and grants.
Total Patents: 259,639
The portfolio is exceptionally broad geographically, spanning 95 jurisdictions with the United States as the largest concentration, followed by the European Patent Office, Japan, and Australia. This wide international coverage, including substantial holdings in Canada, China, India, Brazil, and South Korea, is characteristic of pharmaceutical portfolios, where global patent protection is essential to defend high-value therapeutics across every significant market.
Johnson & Johnson’s patent portfolio is overwhelmingly concentrated in healthcare at roughly 70%, covering pharmaceuticals, biologics, and therapeutics, followed by the industrial domain at 22%, which in this RPX classification captures the company’s extensive medical device, surgical instrument, and orthopaedic hardware technologies. The consumer goods share reflects vision care and legacy consumer products, while imaging captures diagnostic and interventional visualisation systems.
Top Citing Assignees (Forward Citations)
Top Cited Assignees (Backward Citations)
Top Cited Patents (Forward Citations)
Top Citing Patents (Backward Citations)
The citation network maps onto the global medical technology and pharmaceutical sector. Beyond Johnson & Johnson itself and its Ethicon surgical subsidiary, the largest citation volumes involve medical device leaders Medtronic, Stryker, Boston Scientific, Abbott, Zimmer Biomet, and Smith & Nephew, alongside pharmaceutical peer Pfizer and imaging and endoscopy specialist Olympus. Several of these entities, including Medtronic, Stryker, Boston Scientific, and Olympus, also feature prominently in the Intuitive Surgical report in this series, reflecting the shared competitive landscape of surgical robotics and devices.
Johnson & Johnson’s litigation dataset is among the most extensive in this report series, including 670 patents that have been involved in litigation matters, 142 petitions, 110 reexaminations, and 723 Chinese Patent Reexamination Board proceedings. The dataset also includes 37 active cases, 749 inactive cases, 139 appeals, and 613 related parties, reflecting the intensely litigated nature of pharmaceutical patents, where generic and biosimilar challenges under frameworks such as the US Hatch-Waxman Act drive frequent disputes.
Ownership Type
Sources of Acquired Patents
Johnson & Johnson’s patent portfolio consists of 241,765 originally assigned patents and 17,874 acquired patents, an acquired share of approximately 7%. Acquired patents originate largely from operating companies, reflecting the company’s long and active history of pharmaceutical and medical device acquisitions to supplement its substantial internal research.
Notable Acquisitions and M&A
2023 – Separation of the consumer health business (Kenvue)
Johnson & Johnson separated its consumer health business as an independent company, Kenvue, through an initial public offering in 2023 and a subsequent exchange offer that completed the spin-off. The separation, home to brands such as Tylenol, Band-Aid, Listerine, and Neutrogena, transformed Johnson & Johnson into a focused, two-segment healthcare company built around Innovative Medicine and MedTech, and is reflected in the residual consumer goods share of the patent portfolio.
2024 – Shockwave Medical and Abiomed
Johnson & Johnson has expanded its MedTech business through large cardiovascular acquisitions, including Shockwave Medical, a leader in intravascular lithotripsy for calcified artery disease, acquired for approximately US$13.1 billion in 2024, and the earlier acquisition of the heart pump maker Abiomed for approximately US$16.6 billion in 2022. These deals established a high-growth cardiovascular platform alongside the company’s electrophysiology business.
2025 / 2026 – Continued Innovative Medicine acquisitions
Johnson & Johnson has continued an aggressive acquisition strategy in Innovative Medicine to offset the loss of exclusivity on its top-selling immunology drug Stelara, including the approximately US$14.6 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, adding the neuroscience drug Caplyta, which completed in 2025. Management has signalled continued M&A supported by strong free cash flow as it builds its oncology and neuroscience pipelines.
Johnson & Johnson is a publicly traded healthcare company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (JNJ) and a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500, and is one of only two remaining AAA-rated corporate credits in the United States. Following the Kenvue separation it operates as a pure-play healthcare company through Innovative Medicine (pharmaceuticals) and MedTech (medical devices) segments.
Johnson & Johnson
One Johnson & Johnson Plaza
New Brunswick, NJ 08933, United States
Johnson & Johnson’s global headquarters are located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where the company was founded in 1886.
Johnson & Johnson’s patent portfolio includes 259,639 patents across 95 jurisdictions, the largest and most geographically broad portfolio in this report series. The portfolio contains patent assets in pharmaceuticals and biologics, oncology, immunology and neuroscience therapeutics, vaccines, surgical instruments and robotics, orthopaedics, cardiovascular and electrophysiology devices, and vision care.
The portfolio includes 40,498 simple families, 49,917 extended families, 294 litigated patents, and 46 challenged patents, with 108,303 active assets of which 47,512 are pending applications.
Johnson & Johnson’s patent portfolio contains 259,639 patents across 95 jurisdictions, the largest in this report series. The portfolio includes 40,498 simple families and 49,917 extended families.
Healthcare accounts for roughly 70% of the portfolio, covering pharmaceuticals, biologics, and therapeutics, followed by the industrial domain at 22%, an RPX grouping that captures medical devices, surgical instruments, and orthopaedic hardware.
Johnson & Johnson’s portfolio includes 108,303 active patent assets, consisting of 60,791 active grants and 47,512 active applications.
The United States contains the largest number, followed by the European Patent Office, Japan, World Intellectual Property Organization filings, Australia, Canada, and China, reflecting the broad global protection typical of pharmaceutical portfolios.
The litigation dataset is among the most extensive in this series, including 670 patents in litigation, 142 petitions, 110 reexaminations, and 723 Chinese PRB proceedings, alongside 613 related parties.
The portfolio contains 241,765 originally assigned patents and 17,874 acquired patents, an acquired share of approximately 7% reflecting an active history of pharmaceutical and device acquisitions.
The citation data includes significant references involving Medtronic, Stryker, Boston Scientific, Abbott, Zimmer Biomet, Smith & Nephew, Pfizer, and Olympus.
Johnson & Johnson acquired Shockwave Medical for approximately US$13.1 billion in 2024 and Abiomed for approximately US$16.6 billion in 2022 to build its cardiovascular business, and Intra-Cellular Therapies for approximately US$14.6 billion in 2025 in neuroscience; it separated its consumer health business as Kenvue in 2023.
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