Clarivate recognises most influential innovators at South and South East Asia Innovation Forum

 Forum gathered senior leaders from government, academia and industry to discuss challenges and opportunities for innovation and IP creation in the region

Clarivate Plc, a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, unveiled the recipients of the annual South and South East Asia Innovation Awards at the Innovation Forum held on 18 and 19 November. The Innovation Forum brought together leaders from academic, government and industry sectors across the region to share best practices and transformational initiatives that accelerate the pace of innovation. 

The awards are based on an analysis of patent volume, citation volume, patent success and the level of globalisation, using patent data from Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) and Derwent Patent Citations Index (DPCI). This year, 235 organisations from academia, government and the corporate sector were identified as the top innovators in South and South East Asia. The top 28 received the Innovation Award.

Clarivate IP Group President Jeff Roy said, “We are pleased to once again provide a platform for regional leaders and experts across the innovation lifecycle to explore and exchange ideas, foster collaboration and drive research excellence. At Clarivate, we are committed to improving the way the world creates, protects and advances innovation. Bringing together innovators from academia, government and industry will ensure that the spirit of innovation continues to thrive and deliver positive technological, social and economic impact.”

At the virtual two-day event, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant opened with an inaugural address about innovation in the digital age and said: “India is aiming to increase its current R&D expenditure substantially through scale-up innovation-led entrepreneurship in various sectors such as food, energy water and national security. To promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, NITI Aayog has come up with India Innovation Index which is a tool to rank states for innovation and it also measures the result of innovation practices.” 

He also talked about Indian government policy initiatives that have resulted in strict IPR rights, patent filings and contract enforcement which are boosting confidence amongst the innovators and helping them in commercialising their technologies.

Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan highlighted in his speech that this pandemic has led to accelerated innovation and that industry-academic partnerships can be the key to bringing innovations to market quickly, citing the example of India’s first CRISPR COVID-19 test, developed by CSIR-IGIB, a worthy example of home-grown innovation approved for use in India.

Other distinguished speakers included renowned experts from Amity University, APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum, A*STAR Singapore, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), Duopharma Biotech Bhd, Food Innopolis, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Inttl Advocare, Invest India, K&S Partners, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., MAS Holdings, Premas Biotech and National University of Malaysia.

The criteria used to identify the top South and South East Asian innovators closely mirrors that of the annual Derwent Top 100 Global Innovators from Clarivate which celebrates the world’s most successful organisations in research and development.