This is the correlation-causation confusion again. Some countries have big pharma companies, others don't. Big pharma companies can spend more on research as well as on lobbying to maintain over-the-top “IP” protections.

The flaw in your reasoning is seeing the presence or absence of IP protection as an independent variable, and level of R&D as a function of that. I think both are dependent on the amount of cash pharma companies have to spend.