Bhaven Sampat, Columbia University
Bhaven Sampat, Columbia University
The Division of Labor between the Public and Private Sectors in Pharmaceuticals
The Division of Labor between the Public and Private Sectors in Pharmaceuticals
Various theories of the innovation process, including the so-called linear model of innovation and the market failure framework, posit a specific division of labor for the public and private sectors. These theories have been influential in academic work, and have shaped the policy discourse in the pharmaceutical industry and more generally. But in pharmaceuticals, and other industries, there is limited empirical evidence on whether these theories actually capture the different roles the different sectors have in drug development. To the extent we have quantitative data much of it is static, and does not examine changes in roles over the lifecycle of technologies. In this presentation I use data on publications associated with all drugs with first generic entry between 2001 and 2010 to provide a descriptive overview of the public and private sector roles over the entire drug product lifecycle, and to examine the extent to which predictions from different models of the innovation process seem to apply.