Creative imitation in late industrializing countries: the case of biopharmaceutics in South Korea and India

ABSTRACT Given that the patents of the first high cost and complex biopharmaceuticals have started to expire, biotechnology offers opportunities for developing countries to pursue an upgrading process by entering the sector as early imitators. In the case of biotechnology applied to the health sector, the characteristics of the innovation process and the specificity of the regulatory process for biopharmaceuticals raises new questions as to the learning path open to the developing countries that intend to build an industrial promotion strategy on the basis of early entry as imitators. Given those specific characteristics, it is worth asking how far creative imitation strategies could constitute an opportunity for late late industrializing countries to undertake rapid industrial upgrading processes.