Genetic Resources and the Pharmaceutical Industry in Costa Rica
Abstract
The prevention and treatment of modem diseases has become an increasingly
difficult task. Finding way to treat things such as Hodgkin's disease, cancer, and
leukemia is a responsibility that researchers for pharmaceutical companies now carry
on their shoulders. Developing new drugs to get this job done requires extensive
testing. One method that is being utilized is probing natural resources of Central and
South American countries in attempts to find a genetic lead that can be used to
develop a marketable product. This is seen as being more risky in comparison to
testing with chemicals in a laboratory due to the high costs of research and low
probability of discovering a useful genetic resource.
The main issue with this type of research i~ in regards to protecting the natural
resources of the given country while permitting the company to utilize them for
profit. It is possible for a situation to arise in which resources are extracted from a
country, yet there is not proper compensation for the intellectual property that they
have taken. This misallocation of resources can lead to economic imbalance and
abuse of the environment.
Costa Rica has developed the only institution in the world that keeps track of
species and attempts to utilize their economic and biological potential. This
organization called the National Institute of Biodiversity (lnBio). Initially, the
pharmaceutical company will pay an up-front fee to conduct tests. It also provides
new equipment and training for researchers at InBio, which creates a positive affect
for Costa Rica by transferring knowledge and technology. This progress is noted
within the country and has created a culture that promotes preservation and protection
of their precious natural resources. The protection of these natural resources will lead
to further investment in this sector due to the higher probability of finding a useful
genetic lead in the richness of the environmental resources. In regards to economic
effects on the country as a whole, this paper will show that it is possibly too small of
a percentage of GDP to see if there truly is a misallocation of resources. Mixed
results are shown on whether Costa Rica is economically and environmentally better
off than other developing countries due to the existence of InBio.