The agreement establishes a framework within which Sulzer Innotec and Generics can identify IPR, principally within Sulzer Innotec, and co-operate in the exploitation process of that IPR with a view to strengthen Sulzer Innotec’s market position. Where appropriate, Generics may also contribute IPR to the co-operation if this benefits the exploitation process. Joint sales and market­ing activities will strengthen the market position of both parties in the consulting market place.

Hans-Walter Schläpfer, President of Sulzer Innotec, said: “Sulzer Innotec generates IPR that, if successfully exploited, will have considerable value. We are confident we can achieve a better value with the help of Generics’ extensive expertise in developing and commercializing IPR.”

Sulzer Innotec (based in Winterthur, Switzerland) has been the research and development cen­ter for the Sulzer Corporation for over 50 years. Its client base includes not only the divisions of Sulzer but also an increasing number of external customers, especially industrial manufacturers and OEMs in the energy, transport, chemical, process industry, and medical technology sectors (in 2001, close to half of the customers were non-Sulzer companies). Research and develop­ment (contract R&D) as well as ventures projects, together with specialized technology and produc­tion services, currently enable the company to achieve an annual order volume of some 43 million Swiss francs (2001). Sulzer Innotec employs approximately 165 highly qualified special­ists in engineering and materials.

Generics, publicly traded in London and based in Harston, Cambridge (UK), is a company provid­ing a range of technology consulting, advisory, and investment services. It has an inter­national reputation for successfully commercializing emerging science and technology. Generics invests in and develops technologies that underpin the future of the widest range of industries. Its key areas of expertise include: engineering, technology-based business development, materi­als, telecommunications, life sciences, sensors, and electronics. Generics’ facilities include state-of-the-art laboratories and are located in Cambridge (UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Zürich (Switzerland), Stockholm (Sweden), and in Boston and Baltimore (USA). Generics has over 300 employees, of which more than half are high-caliber technology professionals.