Price Regulation, Intellectual Property Rights, and Business Model of Life Science

为了评估日本的生命科学研究政策，本研究调查了日本制药业。首先，我们探讨了价格管制对国民健康保险计划的作用。本研究探讨了价格变量与需求之间的关系。本文研究的重点是“价差比”，定义为官方价格与批发价格之差除以官方价格。1990年代后期，由于官方降价，这一比率急剧下降。而具有仿制药竞争的老产品所占比例较高，这表明老产品的销售商为了抵御仿制药竞争而大幅降低批发价格。即使在90年代后期，价格差异率的提高也会增加产品的需求，这表明价格竞争在90年代后期仍然存在。第二，利用各种专利数据对制药技术的来源进行了分析。本研究 ...更多信息 重点是地点，技术类型，公司规模，机构类型。美国和欧洲的制药公司已经建立了技术社会分工，包括小型生物技术公司，大学和公共研究机构。日本制药企业落后于欧美制药企业。第三，本研究考察制药企业在面临降价时，能否为不断增加的研发支出提供资金。本研究借由对未来医药产品、需求、研发支出、研发失败率等假设，探讨医药厂商之获利能力。我们发现，制药企业将无法持续的R&D支出时，它继续以目前的速度增加。本研究的结论是，制药公司需要更宽松的官方价格管制，注入巨额公共资金的R&D过程中，或干脆放弃目前的商业模式，依赖于R&D资金从产品的现金流。少

To evaluate Japanese life science research policy, this study investigates Japanese pharmaceutical industry. First, we investigate the role of price regulation for the purpose of national health insurance plan. This study examines the relationship between price variables and demand. This study focuses on the "price difference ratio" defined as the difference between the official price and the wholesale price divided by the official price. The ratio has declined sharply in the late 1990s in response to the official price reduction. Old products with generic competition, however, are found to have higher ratio, which fact indicates that seller of old products significantly reduces the wholesale prices to fend off generic competition. The higher price difference ratio could increase demand for products even in the late 1990s, which fact shows price competition prevailed even in that period.Second, we examine the sources of pharmaceutical technology by using various patent data. This study … More focuses on location, type, of technology, scale of firms, type of institutions. The U.S. and European pharmaceutical firms are found to have established technological social division of labor ranging small biotechnology firms, universities, and public research institutes. Japanese pharmaceutical firms are behind the U.S. and European firms.Third, this study examines whether pharmaceutical firms can finance ever increasing R&D expenditure when they face price reduction. By making assumption on future pharmaceutical products, demand, R&D expenditure, and failure rates of R&D projects, this study examines profitability of a pharmaceutical firm. We find that pharmaceutical firms will not be able to sustain R&D expenditure when it continues to increase with current rate. This study concludes that pharmaceutical firms need more lenient official price regulation, infusion of huge public fund into R&D process, or simply abandon current business model relying on R&D finance from cash flow from products. Less