Developing new platform chemicals: what is required for a new bio-based molecule to become a platform chemical in the bioeconomy?

This paper proposes a framework with six dimensions that can be useful for evaluating the potential and the current stage of a bio-based platform chemical. The framework considers the technological and strategic challenges to be fulfilled by a company that intends to lead a platform based on a bio-based chemical. A platform chemical should be an intermediate molecule, with a structure able to generate a number of derivatives, that is produced at a competitive cost, capable of allowing exploitation of the scale and scope economies, and inserted within a complete innovation ecosystem that is able to create value with governance mechanisms that are capable of allowing coordination of the innovation process and facilitation of the value capture by the focal company leading the platform, in our case the producer of the platform molecule.

[Generic drugs in Brazil: impacts of public policies upon the national industry].

This paper echoes recent works of Abrasco, Gadelha and Guimarães emphasizing the need for a better integration between health policies and industrial development and innovation policies as the only way to keep the economic benefits generated by health expenditures in the country instead of letting them escape through imports and threaten the continuity of the social policy by growing trade deficits. Although presenting the generic drug policy as a successful case in integrating social policies aimed at a better access to quality drugs for the population with economic policies aimed at industrial development, this paper discusses the impacts and limitations of the referred policy in a dialog with Abreu's analysis of industrial competitiveness in the Brazilian generics industry.