THE DYNAMICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION: THE ROLE OF DEMAND-PULL, TECHNOLOGICAL-PUSH AND GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES IN THE BRAZILIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

The political actions of a government are capable of stimulating or inhibiting investments in R & D by means of strategies used, which may vary from intrusive and dominating to a low level or absence of control. Government intervention in the pharmaceutical sector must achieve a balance between spending on health and the industrial policy objectives of these companies. This paper aimed to evaluate the relation between demand-pull, technology-push and government determinations in the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry. This is an exploratory and longitudinal inquiry in which bibliographic and documental research were used. The analyses were performed at the macroeconomic level. To evaluate demand pull, the trajectory of the pharmaceutical industry in Brazil was analyzed, specifying government intervention within each historical context and the analysis of IGP for each period. Technology-push was evaluated by counting patents in the database INPADOC for the classification A61 and by analysis of investments in R&D by the multinationals installed in Brazil. Research results were positive, suggesting that government interventions are decisive for technological development in the pharmaceutical sector.