Breaking the Fence: Patent Rights and Biomedical Innovation in “Technology Followers”

The impact of patent protection on biomedical innovation has been a controversial issue.Although a “medical anti-commons” has been predicted due to a proliferation of patents onupstream technologies, evidence to test these concerns is only now emerging. However, mostindustrial surveys that shed light on this issue are mainly from developed countries, making itvery difficult to predict the impact of patenting on biomedical innovation in developing andleast developed countries. This paper develops a framework of analysis for the impact of patentrights on biomedical innovation in “technology follower” developing countries. Based on theframework developed in the paper, empirical data collected in an industry-level survey of theIndian pharmaceutical industry between November 2004 and January 2005 is used to analyzethe impact of patent rights as recognized under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) on biomedical innovation in technologyfollowers.