Developing emergency drugs in time is key to responding to public health emergencies such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This research constructs patent assignee citation networks based on COVID-19 drug patents and applies technology life cycle analysis and social network analysis to examine these networks. The results reveal the evolution and structure of the emergency drug innovation network and identify innovation entities with different research and development (R&D) capabilities or a foundation for cooperation. This study attempts to provide the basis for theories and policies to accelerate R&D of emergency drugs. The key results are as follows: (1) Technologies of the emergency drug innovation network show fluctuating growth aligned closely with public health emergencies. (2) The network presents a sparse structure with many active factions, whose members have the advantage of cooperating. (3) Three types of innovation entities are identified: the main technology suppliers, potential suppliers of other supporting technologies, and peripheral suppliers of other supporting technologies.

中文翻译：

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紧急药物创新网络的演变和政策影响：来自 COVID-19 药物专利的证据

及时开发应急药物是应对 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行等突发公共卫生事件的关键。本研究基于 COVID-19 药物专利构建专利受让人引用网络，并应用技术生命周期分析和社交网络分析来检查这些网络。结果揭示了紧急药物创新网络的演变和结构，并确定了具有不同研发 (R&D) 能力或合作基础的创新实体。本研究旨在为加快应急药物研发提供理论和政策依据。主要结果如下：（1）应急药物创新网络技术呈现波动增长，与突发公共卫生事件密切相关。(2) 网络呈现出活跃派系多的稀疏结构，其成员具有合作的优势。（3）确定了三类创新主体：主要技术供应商、其他配套技术潜在供应商和其他配套技术周边供应商。