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To what extent patents for Covid-19 mRNA vaccines are based on public research and taxpayers’ funding? A case study on the privatization of knowledge
[For Billion-Dollar COVID Vaccines, Basic Government-Funded Science Laid the Groundwork]

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  • Massimo Florio

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has forced us to reconsider the relationship between public and private research and development (R&D). The policy issue is whether, over the next years, governments’ only negotiating position on vaccines and biomedical technologies will be to sign one purchase contract after another and transfer value from taxpayers to investors in pharmaceutical companies. Knowledge and technologies that are crucial to Covid-19 messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine development and production were created with the R&D and financial contribution of governments. Patents filed by pharma companies do not protect the public interest arising from such earlier research. The paper offers a case study on the privatization of knowledge created in the first place by R&D in the public sector or supported by public funds and eventually being appropriated by pharmaceutical corporations. The privatization of knowledge is a more general mechanism, relevant in all industries where patents protect corporate R&D which in turn is supported by government direct or indirect subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimo Florio, 2022. "To what extent patents for Covid-19 mRNA vaccines are based on public research and taxpayers’ funding? A case study on the privatization of knowledge [For Billion-Dollar COVID Vaccines, Basic Gover," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 31(5), pages 1137-1151.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:31:y:2022:i:5:p:1137-1151.
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Kedron & Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen, 2012. "Foreign direct investment in Europe by multinational pharmaceutical companies from India," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 809-839, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Torsten Heinrich & Jangho Yang, 2022. "Innovation in times of Covid-19," Papers 2212.14159, arXiv.org.
    2. Heinrich, Torsten & Yang, Jangho, 2022. "Innovation in times of Covid-19," MPRA Paper 115809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Torsten Heinrich & Jangho Yang, 2022. "Innovation in times of Covid-19," Chemnitz Economic Papers 058, Department of Economics, Chemnitz University of Technology.
    4. Lorenzo Cresti & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2022. "Strategic sectors and essential jobs: a new taxonomy based on employment multipliers," LEM Papers Series 2022/23, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.

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