This article is based on an exhaustive review of empirical evidence from secondary sources of information seeking to answer the research question: What are the main obstacles raised by the Institutional and Regulatory framework for RD and (II) that other obstacles, generally associated with government shortcomings, produce non-financial transaction costs in terms of time and administrative processes, that represent significant impediments to the development of the biotechnology industry and which, in the Colombian case, have slowed progress in the sector.