Or, perhaps being the first to develop a new technique is actually a sufficient competitive advantage to fund the research. This is surely true in many cases w

Or, perhaps being the first to develop a new technique is actually a sufficient competitive advantage to fund the research. This is surely true in many cases where a first mover advantage is large. If you look closely, I think you'll find the research costs in many areas that are prone to making this argument (drugs) are not nearly as large a component of the company's costs as you think.