Building on Our Competitive
Strengths:
40 Years of Use Patents in Missouri (1963-2003)
During
the past 40 years Missouri's institutions and individuals have been
awarded more than 27,000 patents for their innovations and
inventions. Of those patents about 25% have been in categories
associated with the life sciences.
Missouri has shown a particular aptitude for biochemical, food, and
drug invention throughout this period, and has shown growing
strength in surgical inventions both in procedures and apparatus.
The top two biochemical related patent classes (Organic Compounds
and Bio-Affecting and Body Treating Drug Compositions) together
account for almost 11% of all patents issued to Missouri individuals
and institutions during the past 40 years.
Meanwhile, innovation in traditionally manufacturing patent classes such as metalworking, static structures and electrical generator or motor structure, while remaining important, declined over this period.
Top 20 Use Patent Classes
by
Patents Awarded to Missouri Individuals and Institutions
Source: U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, Office of Electronic Information Products, Patent Technology Monitoring Division (PTMD) - Analysis by MERIC. Additional information available at: http://www.uspto.gov/go/classification/selectnumwithtitle.htm
Missouri's Life Sciences
Related Patents
Innovation in life sciences related patent classes is an important
and growing proportion of Missouri's inventive strength. The
issuance of these types of patents increased from 22% of Missouri
patents between 1963 and 1972 to almost 30% of those patents between
1993 and 2002. This concentration of expertise identifies what could
be considered a strategic asset for Missouri, and as such, this
expertise should be employed in the strategic development of
Missouri's labor force and the growth of its economy. (The
identification of patent class categories related to the life
sciences industries was done in a previous MERIC study: "Knowledge
Clusters - Rivals in Innovation: The Life Sciences Industry.")
Which Missouri institutions are responsible for the most inventions and patents?
While private companies have contributed their share of patents, individual Missourians also had a significant impact. Between 1999 and 2003, patents granted to individuals in Missouri totaled 1,135. During that same time, Washington University, the University of Missouri System and St. Louis University were all among the top 25 patent producers.
Top 25 Missouri Recipients of Patents by Year (1999-2003)
Source: U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, Office of Electronic Information Products, Patent Technology Monitoring Division (PTMD) - Analysis by MERIC
Conclusions
Patents related to pharmaceuticals, molecular biochemistry and surgery have grown rapidly and steadily beginning in the 1990s and Missouri should play to those strengths in order to compete with states with larger populations. Success comes by developing this "home-grown" expertise into production techniques and marketable products, rather than seeing those ideas and patents sold to companies on either coast, and developed into job-producing technologies elsewhere.
The same argument for increased commercialization within the state can also be made for all of the Missouri-inspired technologies receiving patents from the U. S. government.
Read the full report.
April 2005
