Obstacles to Progress in R&D Activities Caused by Institutional and Regulatory Frameworks: The Case of the Biotech Sector in Colombia

Abstract

This article is based on an exhaustive review of empirical evidence from secondary sources of information seeking to answer the research question: What are the main obstacles raised by the Institutional and Regulatory framework for R&D activities in Colombia’s biotechnology sector? The main findings indicate: (I) that there is a flawed competitive environment that tends to create oligopolies and other scenarios that facilitate the hoarding of information and knowledge and prevent access by many scientists to relevant new information breakthroughs, thus generating material asymmetries between the scientific communities of developed and developing countries; and (II) that other obstacles, generally associated with government shortcomings, produce non-financial transaction costs in terms of time and administrative processes, that represent significant impediments to the development of the biotechnology industry and which, in the Colombian case, have slowed progress in the sector.