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Lancaster, OH | It would certainly be interesting. One of a few things would likely happen:
1) Another company would hire those researchers and continue on;
2) The remaining companies would relax research and development and focus on operational efficiencies to increase revenue;
3) No one picks up the patent responsibilities and all of the biotech products go away since no one will invest in the testing and labeling requirements.
One thing that Monsanto did that raised the entire industry was to risk large sums of money in research on developing technologies and, in turn, were fortunate enough that they paid off. In the late 70's-early 80's, Nick Redding literally bet the whole company on the belief that Monsanto could be successful in gene transfer before it had ever been done. Had it not been successful, Monsanto would likely be primarily in the plastics and industrial chemical business if they were still in business.
I guess you can ask if you think the other companies or universities would have done that and, if so, how rapidly. | |
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What would happen if Monsanto shut down
