Public-Private Partnerships for Efficient Proprietary Biotech Management and Transfer, and Increased Private Sector Investments
A Briefings Paper with Six Proposals Commissioned by UNIDO
by Anatole F Krattiger (bioDevelopments LLC (International Consultants), USA/Switzerland and swiftt, Cornell University, USA)
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Introduction and Objectives
Evidence is fast emerging that biotechnology will have far reaching consequences on every aspect of our lives. The early applications in agriculture have already led to significant improvements in farm productivity, income enhancement, reduction of toxic chemical insecticides, enabled more flexible farm practices, and water conservation through zero-till agriculture. The private sector has been the main investor, partly because of the high level of patent protection that can be obtained with modern biotech. Worldwide, companies invest perhaps as much as US$2.5 billion annually in plant biotech R&D which far exceeds public sector investments; developing countries invest less than 5% of that total and this is unlikely to increase in the near term. Opportunities must therefore be created for developing countries by building upon private sector investments already made. This paper discusses principal elements of biotech transfer, reviews factors encouraging/discouraging its transfer, and proposes six initiatives that could be launched regionally or even globally to stimulate North/South and South/South transfers. The major contribution a regional approach could make is at the level of accessing intellectual property and scientific capacity by leveling the playing field.
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