Pharma companies dominate 2014 list of Indian firms filing for global patents

Led by companies such as Ranbaxy, Wockhardt and Hetero, the pharma sector dominates the list of top Indian filers under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 2014, seeking protection internationally for their inventions. Overall, the field of organic fine chemistry led the India filings with 301 PCT applications last year, a growth rate of 9.5%, followed by pharmaceuticals with 284 filings.
The list of the top 10 is led by research organization CISR (Council of Industrial and Scientific Research) with 117 filings in 2014. India's share went up by nearly 6% with a total of 1,394 PCT filings in 2014, data culled from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said.

PCT filings, managed by WIPO, assist applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions, and facilitate the acquisition of patent rights in multiple jurisdictions. Though it is not a patent filing system, it is, however, indicative of patent-filing trends around the world. Together, China and US accounted for 87% of the total growth in filings under WIPO's PCT, which saw some 2,15,000 applications in 2014 - a 4.5% increase over the previous year.

After China, India (1,394) is the largest user of the PCT system among BRICS countries, followed by the Russian Federation (890), Brazil (581) and South Africa (297). However, their growth rates differ with Brazil (-11.6%), the Russian Federations (-25.3%) and South Africa (-15.4%) showing declines, while filings originating from India increased by 5.6%. Turkey (802), Malaysia (314) and Mexico (284) are other middle-income countries seeing considerable filing activity under the PCT.

In 2014, organic fine chemistry accounted for 21.4% of all Indian PCT filings, followed closely by pharmaceuticals, which had a share of 20.2%, with the share of both steadily rising over the years. In 2014, CISR had the largest number of filings in organic chemistry (30%), with pharmaceutical filings by the organization cornering a 13% share.

"With an increase in IP awareness amongst the Indian companies (which may increase with campaigns like 'Make in India'), they seem to be taking IP protection more seriously on a global level, and this reflects in the increased filings. Further, a PCT filing gives them more time to decide on the jurisdictions they may be interested in. It remains to be seen as to how many of such PCT applications eventually materialize into national phase applications in various jurisdictions," says Adheesh Nargolkar, partner, Khaitan & Co.

While over 52% of all PCT applications (based on published data) filed by Ranbaxy Laboratories was in the field of organic fine chemistry, pharmaceuticals accounted for 40.5%. Reliance Industries, Wockhardt and Hetero Research Foundation follow with 34, 31 and 27 filings respectively, while Lupin, Piramal Enterprises, Cadila and Glenmark are other pharma companies in the top 10 list.

Interestingly, among the sectors macromolecular chemistry, polymers showed huge growth (90%), but in terms of absolute numbers, the filings increased from 21 in 2013 to 40 in 2014. The other sectors which showed decent growth include medical technology and chemical engineering.

Globally, however, the share of pharmaceutical patenting through PCT has continuously declined since 2007. Pharmaceutical patents represent the seventh largest field, with Merck Sharp & Dohme being the largest filer with 171 applications, followed by Novartis (141), F Hoffmann-La Roche (135) and University of California (111). Universities and public research organizations show a strong presence in this field, accounting for 26% of all pharmaceutical PCT filings. This is in contrast to computer technology and digital communication where these entities accounted for 4.6% and 2.8%, respectively.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Pharma-companies-dominate-2014-list-of-Indian-firms-filing-for-global-patents/articleshow/46801725.cms