Four Organisations in India are recognised as the Most Innovative

Company Brief

Delhi, November 17, 2011

Four organisations have been named as India’s most innovative and the winners of the Thomson Reuters Innovation Award 2011 which is being hosted in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the second year running. First established in 2008, the Thomson Reuters Innovation Award continues to recognise the most innovative academic institutions and commercial enterprises headquartered in India for their spirit of innovation in Research & Development (R&D). .

The Guest-of-Honour at the awards ceremony held this evening was Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Honourable Minister of State for Ministry of Science & Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Ministry of Planning. The ceremony was attended by more than 150 guests comprising researchers, scientists and heads of pharmaceutical and technology companies, academics, intellectual property (IP) analysts and searchers, and patent examiners.

Four awards were presented across four different industrial sectors: Pharma Corporate, Pharma Academic & Government, Hi-Tech Corporate and Hi-Tech Academic & Government. The following award recipients were recognised for their distinguished achievements through patented technology as recorded in data from Thomson Innovation®, the Thomson Reuters IP intelligence and collaboration platform.

• Hi-Tech Corporate: Tata Steel Limited

• Pharma Corporate: Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited

• Hi-Tech Academic & Government:

• Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO)

• Pharma - Academic & Government: National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER)

Said Prof. K. K. Bhutani, Director of NIPER, award recipient in the Pharma-Academic & Government category, “Innovation in science and technology is the key to delivering the benefits of progress to every citizen. As a partner in India’s healthcare delivery system, NIPER has introduced the concept of central testing laboratories in the Institute by bringing together chemists, biologists and pharmacists on a common platform. The aim is to harvest the fruits of research in academia and share expertise with the pharmaceutical industry so as to strengthen drug discovery and development.

The scientific tools offered by Thomson Reuters have played a major role in meeting this challenge. A quantum leap in the number of patents and publications from a young Institute like NIPER is an indication of the dedication of our staff and students. I am really happy to know that Thomson Reuters has recognized this achievement. This appreciation reinforces our commitment and provides us with an international platform to showcase our accomplishments.”

The four Award recipients were selected based on research and analysis using Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index®, Derwent Patent Citations Index™ and Thomson Innovation®.. The 2011 Award recipients are decided by analysing their innovation through patented technology as recorded in Thomson Reuters patent information services. Criteria for the 2011 Award include the number of Basic Inventions each organisation published from 2009-2010; its ratio of granted patents to Basic Inventions; the global reach of the portfolio (protecting an invention in major world markets is an indication that an organization places a significant value on those pieces of their intellectual property); and the overall influence of the portfolio as determined by international citations of its research.

Said Dr. Wong Woei Fuh, managing director of South and Southeast Asia at Thomson Reuters, “As a strong supporter of the R&D communities in India and Asia Pacific in their efforts and international collaboration, we are pleased to recognise India’s collective achievements in innovation. Innovation drives economic growth and success. The importance of intellectual property as a major source for economic and technological development in India is demonstrated by the increasing creativity and impact of Indian research and technology throughout the world. The last five years have seen a substantial increase in patenting activity from 24,505 applications in 2006 to over 34,000 applications in 2010 at an average CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 8.8 percent.”

To foster this increase, the Indian Patent Office joined the patent offices of USA, Japan, South Korea, China and the European Union in offering online filing for trademark and patent applications. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) dominates the ranking table of the Top 10 patent assignees for all Indian inventions with over 3,600 inventions from 1975 to date.

Said Mr. Vinay Singh, senior national manager of India, Thomson Reuters, “Innovation and intellectual property assets are fuelling India’s corporate growth. These are an important part of the valuation of companies and organizations that are being acquired by Indian companies as they expand their global footprint rapidly. Thomson Reuters is pleased to support Indian companies in their patent search, analytics and collaboration workflow with its solutions.”

Said Mr. Anjan Das Senior Director, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), “CII is happy to partner with Thomson Reuters again and co-organise the Innovation Awards 2011 in India. As one of the apex bodies representing industries in India, CII aims to foster an innovation culture amongst its members and society with the objective of building a sustainable innovation ecosystem in the country. We are also active members of the National Innovation Council. With the help of Thomson Reuters, which has a strong presence in IP management and supporting R&D, we are confident that our joint initiatives will serve to encourage and provide industry recognition to our finest innovators from all over India.”

For more information on Thomson Reuters methodology regarding the use of patent analytics in measuring innovation in India, visit http://science.thomsonreuters.com/ssr/india-innovation-awards-2011/

For further information, please contact:

The Practice

Deepika Batra

Tel: +91-11-46504100

Email: deepika@the-practice.net