Innovation’s response ‘has been truly impressive,’ according to Office of the Chief Economist

A recently released Office of the Chief Economist report underscores the importance of innovation in the health field—in this case, during the unprecedented health crisis known as COVID-19.

The October 2023 report said: “This study is part of an emerging body of work that seeks to understand the workings of the innovation system in times of crisis.” Its conclusion was that “Looking back from 2023, the innovation response to the crisis has been truly impressive.”

Specifically:

• New vaccines and therapeutics have lowered morbidity and greatly reduced mortality from COVID-19.
• Innovations in diagnostics allowed for the identification of infected persons outside of health care facilities, enabled disease tracking, and informed preemptive policy responses using the latest epidemiologic data.
• At present, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists 34 over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 test kits.

Among the key findings were that small companies and universities led the way in COVID-19 diagnostic public patent filings at the USPTO, with the top-filer being a diagnostic startup company.

Also, about 10.7 percent of all COVID-19 public patent filings show government support, with the National Institutes of Health leading other agencies.

Read the report at uspto.gov/ip-policy/economic-research/publications/reports.