Que vaut une molécule ?

Following the advent of biotechnology and the amplifying calls for the transfer of knowledge from science to industry, the development of new drugs increasingly resorts to partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and start-ups stemming from public research. Such partnerships are market relation...

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Main Author: Liliana Doganova
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Société d'Anthropologie des Connaissances 2015-03-01
Series:Revue d'anthropologie des connaissances
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/rac/3381
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author Liliana Doganova
author_facet Liliana Doganova
author_sort Liliana Doganova
collection DOAJ
description Following the advent of biotechnology and the amplifying calls for the transfer of knowledge from science to industry, the development of new drugs increasingly resorts to partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and start-ups stemming from public research. Such partnerships are market relations in which R&D (research & development) projects are bought and sold. How is the value of R&D projects constituted and measured in view of their exchange? The article addresses this question by focusing on the most widespread tool for the valuation of drug development projects: the discounted cash flow (DCF) formula. Widely used, the formula is also vividly criticized for the instability of the results that it produces and the too low values that it grants to exploratory projects. The study of the valuation practices that the formula instruments shows that the capacity of the formula to calculate hinges upon a metrological infrastructure and that, paradoxically, it is precisely because the formula produces “wrong” results that it “works”.
format Article
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publisher Société d'Anthropologie des Connaissances
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spelling doaj-art-e3ec50a8b033422198d005e38ec926402025-08-20T02:12:42ZfraSociété d'Anthropologie des ConnaissancesRevue d'anthropologie des connaissances1760-53932015-03-019110.3917/rac.026.0017Que vaut une molécule ?Liliana DoganovaFollowing the advent of biotechnology and the amplifying calls for the transfer of knowledge from science to industry, the development of new drugs increasingly resorts to partnerships between pharmaceutical companies and start-ups stemming from public research. Such partnerships are market relations in which R&D (research & development) projects are bought and sold. How is the value of R&D projects constituted and measured in view of their exchange? The article addresses this question by focusing on the most widespread tool for the valuation of drug development projects: the discounted cash flow (DCF) formula. Widely used, the formula is also vividly criticized for the instability of the results that it produces and the too low values that it grants to exploratory projects. The study of the valuation practices that the formula instruments shows that the capacity of the formula to calculate hinges upon a metrological infrastructure and that, paradoxically, it is precisely because the formula produces “wrong” results that it “works”.https://journals.openedition.org/rac/3381biotechnologyuncertaintycommercializationvaluationdiscounted cash flowpresent value
spellingShingle Liliana Doganova
Que vaut une molécule ?
Revue d'anthropologie des connaissances
biotechnology
uncertainty
commercialization
valuation
discounted cash flow
present value
title Que vaut une molécule ?
title_full Que vaut une molécule ?
title_fullStr Que vaut une molécule ?
title_full_unstemmed Que vaut une molécule ?
title_short Que vaut une molécule ?
title_sort que vaut une molecule
topic biotechnology
uncertainty
commercialization
valuation
discounted cash flow
present value
url https://journals.openedition.org/rac/3381
work_keys_str_mv AT lilianadoganova quevautunemolecule