1 Presentation for the conference on "Markets for Pharmaceuticals and the Health of Developing Nations" To be held in Toulouse Dec 5-6 TRIPS and its possible impact on the Indian biopharmaceutical industry By Augustin Maria* and Shyama V. Ramani** ,+ *CERNA Ecole Nationale Supérieure Des Mines de Paris (ENSMP) Tel : 01 40 51 92 97 augustinmaria@yahoo.com **Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) Université Pierre Mendès France BP 47, 38040 Grenoble cedex9, France Tel:33 4 7682 5412 ; Fax: 33 4 7682 5455 shyamar@grenoble.inra.fr ABSTRACT Many countries of the world, including India, have achieved self-sufficiency in knowledge intensive sectors by allowing for a loosely defined intellectual property regime (IPR). The implementation of TRIPS worldwide essentially represents a big step in the opposite direction as it refers to a tightening of national IPR systems. Its impact on the production and innovative capacity of developing countries, in knowledge intensive sectors is not at all clear. Taking India as a representative of a technologically advanced developing country, and biopharmaceuticals as an example of an emerging knowledge intensive sector, we examine the possible impact of TRIPS on the incentives to innovate. We conclude that TRIPS is not likely to have a significant impact on the incentives for innovation creation. The analysis is based on field interviews carried out by the authors. -------------------------------------------------- +Address for correspondence: Shyama V. Ramani, I.N.R.A., Université Pierre Mendès France, BP 47, Grenoble cedex 9, 38040, France. Shyamar@grenoble.inra.fr