Personalized medicine defines an individualized healthcare system based on patients’ unique characteristics, such as genetic information. It aims to reduce the predictable risk of disease and improve response to treatment by applying a specific therapy. This particular field brings along the...

We survey the economics literature on optimal patent design. We first outline the patent right and the basic economic effects of the patent on innovation. Models that use frictions instead of patents to generate rewards to innovation and models of trade secrecy are considered briefly. The patent...