Philips demonstrates innovation power, topping European Patent Office Medtech filings in 2024
Mar 25, 2025 | 3 minute read
Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that in 2024 it was the leading applicant in the field of medical technology at the European Patent Office (EPO), filing 594 Medtech patent applications. This achievement underscores the company's ongoing dedication to transforming healthcare delivery by integrating informatics and AI to improve workflows, enhance the quality of care, and lower costs of care per patient.
The innovations by Philips, which can boast 134 years of innovation history with its research and development programs around the globe, improved the health and well-being of nearly 2 billion people in 2024, keeping it on track towards its target of 2.5 billion lives improved in 2030.
The 2024 European patent rankings show how we continue to innovate in the hospital and the home – helping to deliver better care for more people.
Roy Jakobs, CEO of Royal Philips said: "For more than 130 years, Philips has been at the forefront of innovations improving people’s lives. The 2024 European patent rankings show how we continue to innovate in the hospital and the home – helping to deliver better care for more people. To continue driving greater impact, we have shifted our innovation closer to customers. We want to help healthcare professionals improve patient care and empower people everywhere to take care of their health and well-being.”
As informatics and AI increasingly create value for healthcare both at the hospital as well as at home, approximately half of the company’s R&D investments are focused on these technologies.
Some of the informatics and AI-powered innovations that Philips launched in 2024 include: In total, Philips contributed 1,231 European patent applications across various domains, the most of any Dutch company and continuing the company’s legacy as one of the top applicants since the EPO started publishing the rankings in 2004.
Further illustrating Philips’ innovation leadership is the company’s recent inclusion in the Clarivate Top 100 Global Innovators 2025, marking the company’s 12th consecutive inclusion in this major assessment of global innovators.
Philips invested approximately EUR 1.7 billion in research and development in 2024 to help drive better care for more people. At more than 9% of sales, this is well above the industry average. The company's extensive intellectual property portfolio includes 50,500 patent rights, 30,500 trademarks, 150,000 design rights, and 3,200 domain names.
