The American spirit of entrepreneurship is one of the most admired qualities of the United States and, alongside it, there is an innovation environment that thrives, Ambassador of the US in Bucharest Hans Klemm said on Wednesday, at the second edition of the Innoteque international conference on innovation.
The US Ambassador stated that the American spirit of entrepreneurship is one of the most admired qualities. Entrepreneurship in the US is a reflection of our society, based on common opportunities, quality education and access to capital, supported by the rule of law and strengthened by a high tolerance degree of risk taking, the Ambassador mentioned. Together with entrepreneurship in the United States, we have an innovation environment that thrives, we created this by protecting intellectual property rights that are vital to boosting growth and strengthening an innovative economy, the high official added. For example, in industry the cost of research, development and testing of a new drug may be astronomical, but in the United States, only 12% of the drugs undergoing clinical trials reach the patient, he stated. Companies can only afford this initial investment if they can get profit from those medicines that are on the market, which is possible only through a solid protection of intellectual property rights, Hans Klemm stated.
He mentioned that taxation also played a role. In 1981, the United States introduced the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit, which allows companies to deduct from taxes some of the costs associated with research and development. In 2017, the US Government granted 13.5 billion US dollars tax cuts to support research and development across the entire US economy.
Hans Klemm mentioned that another important mechanism for reducing and controlling the risk associated with innovation is the bankruptcy law.
In his opinion, there are many examples of innovative entrepreneurs who have tried to bring a new product on the market and have failed, but, later, using bankruptcy law of the United States, they succeeded in reinventing themselves or reinventing their companies and bringing new products on the market.
He argues that as collaborative design centers and interdisciplinary activity, universities are crucial to these ecosystems, especially when they work in partnership with industry. These collaborations create beneficial relationships for both parties by expanding the funding base for innovation, providing students with concrete, direct experience and allowing companies to market state-of-the-art technology.
According to Hans Klemm, the Innoteque conference in 2016 tried to focus on this aspect of the innovation ecosystem which supports its development in the university environment, but also supports the development of a legal framework that would allow the transfer or passage of that research and development into commercial applications.
He also said that broader policies play a part. Transparent, stable, predictable economic policies represent the best way to create an economic environment in which innovation and investment can flourish.
According to the US diplomat, digitisation is especially promising because it provides an unique opportunity to create personalised care solutions for patients, according to their needs. This helps to create healthcare systems that are more efficient, sustainable and transparent.
Ambassador Hans Klemm mentioned that we shouldn't seek innovation for the sake of innovation, but rather for its benefits.
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