Synthetic biology is an emerging interdisciplinary field which com

bines the principles of engineering and biology

aiming at the (re-) design

modification and fabrication of new and existing biological systems. The techniques developed by synthetic biology are revolutionizing biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. From the perspective of patent analysis

this article reviews the technological history of synthetic biology and its applications. The development of synthetic biology techniques can be divided into four stages. 1) The first stage before 2005

is represented by the application of gene regulatory circuits in the field of metabolic engineering

and large-scale production of artemisinin precursor in

E.coli

was achieved. 2) During the second stage from 2005 to 2011

basic research on improving engineered natural and artificial cells was developed rapidly

however the number of patent applications did not increase significantly

but new tools and methods continued to accumulate

reflecting the early development characteristics of "engineering biology". 3) In the third stage from 2011 to 2015

with the development of novel genome editing

as well as the incorporation of those fundamentals into synthetic biology tools

patent application was doubled. 4) At the fourth stage since 2015

the design-build-test (DBT) cycle of synthetic biology has been extended to the design-build-test-learn (DBTL) cycle

therefore enabling broader convergence and interoperability of semiconductor synthetic biology

engineering biology and other emerging frontiers. After going through the above four development stages

a number of synthetic biology companies have grown up

and many traditional pharmaceutical companies have also invested in the field of synthetic biology for drug development

generating a variety of patents related to gene synthesis

gene therapy

cell therapy

biological materials

genome editing

et al. Through the analysis of representative synthetic biology enterprises' product development and their corresponding patent layout

we highlight the main t

echnical modules and application fields of synthetic biology technologies. Based on the systematic analysis of these key technologies and patents

we develope a break-up and comprehensive analysis framework to clarify the characteristics of synthetic biology for competitive landscapes and predict their technological trends. Especially

we developed a synthetic biology knowledge map to systematically present a landscape for synthetic biology development. By translating patent information into competitive intelligence

this study also investigated the impact of synthetic biology applications on various aspects of industry and society. Finally

this article summarizes and speculates the development of synthetic biology

including the development of enabling technology platforms and tools

definition and use of standard essential patents (SEPs)

and relationship between intellectual property management and product accessment.