European patent application EP-2496644 filed by Novamont, naming Catia Bastioli as inventor, covering biodegradable polyester blends with natural polymers.
On November 4, 2010, Novamont S.p.A. formally filed European patent application EP-2496644, titled "Mixtures of biodegradable polyesters with at least one polymer of natural origin," naming Catia Bastioli as inventor, two years after the priority date had been established.
The filing sought protection across European jurisdictions for a technology combining engineered biodegradable polyesters with naturally derived polymers, an approach aimed at optimizing the balance between mechanical performance, cost, biodegradability, and renewable content in bioplastic formulations. This kind of hybrid material design was central to Novamont's strategy of continuously improving its Mater-Bi product family to meet diverse industrial and consumer packaging needs.
The formal European filing, following the PCT/priority process, reflected the systematic and long-term nature of Bastioli's patent strategy, spanning years between initial discovery and full legal protection. It illustrates how sustained investment in R&D at Novamont, under Bastioli's scientific leadership, produced an evolving pipeline of protected innovations that reinforced the company's position as a global leader in bio-based and biodegradable plastics throughout the 2010s.