Business development in renewable energy

This paper discusses how to foster development of renewable energy business. Factors that impede or enhance renewable energy in the EU 27 member states in the period 1998–2008 are analyzed. Nine factors are considered: population density, production output and energy sector output to indicate market conditions, public total expenditures, subsidies and environmental protection expenditures to indicate institutional conditions, R&D, share of students in population and venture capital to indicate firm’s resources. Scarce space for business development and vested energy interests are the main impediments. R&D and venture capital are main drivers. The US and EU support for R&D and venture capital in renewable energy are compared. The US support is larger and mainly based on R&D grants. It has generated large, innovative enterprises. The EU support is mainly based on price guarantees for renewable energy delivery to grid. It has generated many enterprises. Building capabilities through stakeholders’ networks in early phase of business development and clusters in the later phase is recommended

The global biopharma industry and the rise of Indian drug multinationals: implications for Australian generics policy

This article provides a synopsis of the new dynamics of the global biopharma industry. The emergence of global generics companies with capabilities approximating those of 'big pharma' has accelerated the blurring of boundaries between the innovator and generics sectors. Biotechnology-based products form a large and growing segment of prescription drug markets and regulatory pathways for biogenerics are imminent. Indian biopharma multinationals with large-scale efficient manufacturing plants and growing R&D capabilities are now major suppliers of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and generic drugs across both developed and developing countries. In response to generic competition, innovator companies employ a range of life cycle management techniques, including the launch of 'authorised generics'. The generics segment in Australia will see high growth rates in coming years but the prospect for local manufacturing is bleak. The availability of cheap generics in international markets has put pressure on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) pricing arrangements, and a new policy direction was announced in November 2006. Lower generics prices will have a negative impact on some incumbent suppliers but industrial renewal policies for the medicines industry in Australia are better focused on higher value R&D activities and niche manufacturing of sophisticated products

Patent characteristics and patent ownership change in agricultural biotechnology

We examine the effect of various patent characteristics on changes in patent ownership that occurred due to mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs in the agricultural biotechnology industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Our goal is to shed light on the role that certain patent qualities may play in the transfer of knowledge and technology that takes place through merger and acquisition activity. Specifically, we empirically measure the effect of patent value, scope/breadth, strength, and the nationality of the patent owner on the occurrence and frequency of patent ownership change in the agricultural biotechnology sector during the 1980s and 1990s. We find that the greater is the patent breadth and the less valuable and 'weaker' is the patent, the greater is the likelihood and the frequency of patent ownership change. Also, the nature of patent ownership affects patent ownership change, with patents owned by multiple owners of different nationalities most likely to change hands

Modeling probabilities of patent oppositions in a Bayesian semiparametric regression framework

Markov Chain Monte Carlo, Bayesian semiparametric binary regression, Bayesian P-splines, Patent opposition,