The least developed countries (LDCs) are demanding an indefinite (read permanent) exemption from having to honor any intellectual property rights to pharmaceuticals, and the U.S. is being called “egregious” for the “meager” offer of granting a ten-year waiver from obligations. R&D Scuttled Research and development (R&D), be it pharmaceuticals or agriculture, requires a paymaster. EU farm ministers are arguing that the European Patent Office’s recent ruling granting patents to crops bred for unique traits will undermine agricultural R&D. However, the U.S. grants such protections. The result, according to the European Investment Bank, is that agricultural R&D in America is nearly 40 percent greater, and half of it is generat...
A pika (/ˈpaɪkə, ˈpiːkə/ PY-kə, PEE-kə[3][4]) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America. With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears.[5] The large-eared pi...
Lobelia (/loʊˈbiːliə, lə-/[4][5][6]) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae comprising 415 species,[7] with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions.[8] They are known g...
The Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus) is a rodent in the squirrel family, Sciuridae. It occurs only in the U.S. state of Washington, at the middle elevations of the Olympic Peninsula. The closest relatives of this species are the hoary marmot and the Vancouver Island marmot. In 2009, it was decl...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.