Stealing from the past: Globalisation, strategic formation and the use of indigenous intellectual property in the biotechnology industry

Biotechnology has proven itself to be one of the most promising and volatile sectors in the world economy. From genetic engineering to the mapping of human cell lines, biotechnology is now a multibillion dollar venture. As a result the trade in biological specimens has increased, with researchers co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Third world quarterly 2001-08, Vol.22 (4), p.643-656
Main Authors: Ostergard, Robert L, Tubin, Matthew, Altman, Jordan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alliance
Alliances
Automobiles
Biotechnology
Biotechnology industry
Biotechnology Issues
Corporations
Developing Countries
Development studies
Economic resources
Engineering
Engineers
Financial services industries
Genetic engineering
Genetics
Globalization
Indigenous Populations
Intellectual property
International alliances
International Trade
LDCs
Natural Resources
Property
Research universities
Trade
Universities
World Economy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Biotechnology has proven itself to be one of the most promising and volatile sectors in the world economy. From genetic engineering to the mapping of human cell lines, biotechnology is now a multibillion dollar venture. As a result the trade in biological specimens has increased, with researchers continually seeking new sources for specimens. The goal of our research is to explore two fundamental questions related to the biotechnology industry: (1) what has been the driving force behind the relatively recent explosive growth in the biotechnology industry; (2) what has been the impact on the developing world - which houses the natural resources that are the bases for many of these new biotechnology discoveries? We argue that globalisation has pushed governments, biotechnology firms and universities into strategic alliances that have unfairly included another partner in the creation of these new products: the developing world.
ISSN:0143-6597
1360-2241
DOI:10.1080/01436590120071821