Business News
DuPont Innovation Results – Faster, Stronger, Better than Competition
Thursday 30. July 2009 - The Patent Board ranks DuPont No. 1 in the Chemicals Industry category. These charts show that DuPont exceeds the industry in research intensity, and has a faster cycle time for innovation. For more charts and information, visit http://www.patentboard.com.
DuPont employees continued to focus on what we do best throughout the first half of 2009 – and in the Science & Technology area that means innovation.
In addition to a record number of new products launched in the first six months of this year, DuPont filed more than 1,000 U.S. patent applications between January and June. This record-setting patent-filing performance is almost 25% ahead of our 2008 first half filings. New product launches have increased nearly 50% year-over-year, and have particularly helped us gain business in emerging regions.
“We have begun the year with very strong results in innovation,” said Uma Chowdhry, senior vice president and chief science & technology officer. “Every new product launch is a pricing opportunity, and our protected inventions mean sustainable price premiums. These new products have underpinned the 4% increase in local prices achieved in the first half, enabling a one percentage point expansion of variable margin over the first half of 2008.”
Leading the way in patent activity is biotechnology. In the first half of 2009, DuPont filed more than 200 germplasm cases alone. In industrial biotechnology, we have doubled the size of our patent portfolio in just four years. All DuPont platforms showed strong performance, with every platform ahead of 2008 for patent filings year-to-date.
Thanks to a strong history in patent activity, DuPont continues to receive external recognition as a leader in patents and technology strength. The scientific journal Nature Biotechnology ranked the DuPont biotechnology patent portfolio first in the field of agriculture and industrial biotechnology patents for the 2008 calendar year.
In June 2009 The PatentBoard once again rated DuPont as the leader in the chemical industry for the strength and breadth of our patent portfolio. DuPont has received this top ranking every quarter since January 2007 when the PatentBoard first issued the Global Patent Scorecard.
“Our science engine is what draws customers to DuPont and is the reason for investors to believe in the strength of our future,” Uma said. “I am very proud of our innovation performance.”