Business
Vaccine Demand Forecasting: Creating Markets and Incentives
The PSD Blog and CGD’s Global Health Policy Blog mention a Scientific American article on the need for and initiatives to forecast the demand for vaccines. The problem this work addresses is what happens in the absence of well-defined markets:
Unpredictable demand creates a three-way catch-22 problem, as pointed out in a 2002 study commissioned by [...]
Entrepreneurship in the US and India: Competitive Advantage
Duke University reports that immigrants are behind 25% of the startups created in the USA between 1995 and 2005. More striking than the total number, however, was the dominance of Indian entrepreneurs. They founded 26% of tech startups - more than those created by immigrants from the four next biggest sources combined - UK, China, [...]
Indian Pharma: Balancing Patent Rights and Obligations
The ICTSD is carrying an analysis of the post-TRIPS generic pharmaceutical sector in India (there is also a report on Thailand). For a mere industry analysis the report has little new to offer, as a previous report by the CDS has already offered a more extensive analysis.
However, it is an extremely lucid case study that [...]
Technology for Development: Obstacles & Solutions
I don’t know how, but Techies for Development found my blog. Surprising, because for someone that has extensive experience in the field, I’ve largely avoided looking at technology for development. Still, this blog is a good wakeup call and started an interesting thought process.
In choosing not to join the loud debate on Technology for Development [...]
Novartis Challenges Indian Patent Law
I seem to have missed this. Since May, Novartis has been involved in a legal challenge to India’s Patent Act, which was changed in 2005 to make it TRIPS compliant (see Berne Declaration release for timeline, and coverage from IPMed).
The genesis of the issue is the rejection of Novartis’ patent application for its anti-cancer drug [...]
India: Challenge and Opportunity of a Lifetime
Last week I had the opportunity to attend three events in Delhi – the 3rd Sat Pal Mittal Memorial Lecture by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chair of the Planning Commission, on the 11th plan; the India-Japan Energy Forum organized by TERI and NEDO; and the London School of Economics (LSE) Asia Forum. The timing of [...]
Formal Business through Informal Means: Targeting the BoP
The McKinsey Quarterly is carrying an interesting article on doing business in emerging markets, particularly the BoP. Titled, A grassroots approach to emerging-market consumers, the article sees the challenge primarily as a principal-agent problem:
A company (the principal) is in a weaker position than the community (the agent) when it comes to gaining local information, shaping [...]
Kidney Transplants Legal in Iran
Iran, apparently is one of the few countries that allows people to legally sell their kidneys. And The Economist approves:
With proper regulation, a kidney market would be a big improvement on the current, sorry state of affairs. Sellers could be checked for disease and drug use, and cared for after operations. They could, for instance, [...]
