The European Patent Office saw thousands of patent applications for organic fine chemicals in 2015, and several heavy-hitters in the chemicals industry were among the top appliers.
According to data from EPO.org Bayer, BASF and Hoffmann-la Roche were the top companies with patent applications for organic fine chemicals.
Generally produced in much smaller quantities than commodity chemicals, fine chemicals are used as starting materials in a range of applications such as pharmaceuticals, food additives, dyes, flavors and fragrances.
