Chinese firms win WIPO global awards

Three Chinese companies have won this year's Global Awards presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization, highlighting growing international recognition for technologies that deliver tangible benefits for human health and environmental sustainability.

The WIPO Global Awards 2026 were announced on Friday in Geneva, Switzerland. This year, 11 startups and small and medium-sized enterprises were selected from a record-breaking pool of more than 1,300 applications from 126 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and the United States.

According to a WIPO statement, the awards demonstrate what can be achieved when intellectual property strategy and business execution work together to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The organization said each category recognizes one startup and one SME, ensuring early-stage and established companies compete on equal footing. The awards cover sectors including agriculture and food, creative industries, the environment, health and information and communications technology.

Among the 11 winners, the three from China are: Botree, an environmental technology SME; ArteryFlow, a health tech SME; and Regend Therapeutics, a health-focused startup.

Botree was recognized for its work in sustainable battery recycling. As electric vehicle battery production accelerates worldwide, retired batteries are expected to total 12 million metric tons by 2030, enough to fill nearly 5,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to WIPO. Recovering valuable materials from these batteries has traditionally been too complex to carry out on a large scale.

The company uses advanced technologies to efficiently extract key metals, including nickel, cobalt and lithium, from used batteries, making recycling more economically viable and helping build a more sustainable battery recycling supply chain, WIPO said.

ArteryFlow focuses on noninvasive cardiovascular diagnostics. Heart disease is the world's leading cause of death, claiming 18 million lives each year, yet accurate diagnosis often relies on invasive procedures that are time-consuming, costly and carry risks, according to WIPO.

The company uses artificial intelligence algorithms to replace invasive procedures with fast, low-cost assessments. Using a standard medical scan, its AI platform delivers a comprehensive vascular evaluation in less than five minutes at just 25 percent of the cost of traditional approaches, WIPO said.

The platform has been approved for use in China, the US and Europe. It has served more than 100,000 patients across 400 medical institutions worldwide, and the company's intellectual property is protected on three continents.

Regend Therapeutics was honored for advances in regenerative medicine through a novel lung repair therapy. The treatment uses a patient's own lung cells to regenerate damaged alveoli from within. In clinical trials, patients who had previously struggled to walk were able to return to their daily routines, WIPO said.

Marcelo Di Pietro Peralta, director of the WIPO Global Awards, said this year's winners demonstrate how the strategic use of intellectual property can drive business success while addressing global challenges. WIPO Director General Daren Tang presented the trophies to the winners.

As part of the award, the winners will receive tailored one-on-one mentoring on intellectual property business models, market access and financing. They will also gain access to WIPO's network of ecosystem partners, connecting them with investors, accelerators and service providers.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn