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ITO Banri
Department Aoyama Gakuin University Department of Economics, College of Economics Position Professor |
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| Language | English |
| Publication Date | 2007 |
| Type | Academic Journal |
| Peer Review | Peer reviewed |
| Title | Who Develops Innovations in Medicine for The Poor? Trends in Patent Applications Related to Medicines for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Neglected Diseases |
| Contribution Type | Collaboration |
| Journal | The Developing Economies |
| Journal Type | Another Country |
| Volume, Issue, Page | pp.141-171 |
| Author and coauthor | Banri Ito and Tatsufumi Yamagata |
| Details | This paper analyzes patent data of medicines and vaccines for diseases spreading in low-income countries. The data were retrieved from a database of the Japan Patent Office. Who invents medicines for the poor of the world? This is the main question that the paper addresses. Results indicate that not only public institutions but also private firms have played an important role in developing innovations for fighting both global diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and so-called neglected diseases including malaria, which seem to spread almost exclusively in low-income countries. Moreover, the basic mechanism of innovation is similar between the development of medicines for HIV/AIDS and those for neglected diseases. Finally, among firms, infectious disease fighting innovations are quite diverse. R&D stock and economies of scope are used to explain frequent patent applications by a high-performing pharmaceutical firm. |