Using resources in R&D policy planning: Brazil, the Amazon and biotechnology

Brazil's research and development (R&D) policies are examined in light of changes in economic direction especially as it pertains to competition. In a competitive environment, regions should develop industrial applications and expertise in areas that coincide with their resources. These could be human resources but could, as in the focus of this paper, be useful resources that differentiate the region from others in the world. This differentiation provides an advantage to the region. Brazil and its Amazon region has the large majority of the world's rare genes. In biotechnology, genes are “green gold,” and Brazil is slowly developing a biotechnology industry and beginning to tap into the Brazilian Amazon region's economic biotech potential. This region has enormous potential for the development of biotech-related technologies and products. This paper discusses the relationship between resources and an R&D strategy using as an example the recent developments in biotechnology research in Brazil and the role of the Amazon region in the development of a Brazilian biotechnology industry. It recommends a number of policy initiatives that will enhance Brazil's focus on biotechnology.     

Small-Firm Strategic Research Partnerships: The Case of Biotechnology

This paper provides an overview of the theoretical motivation and the empirical literature on small firm strategic alliances in biotechnology, an industry where these alliances have proliferated. We begin by examining the alliance strategy for knowledge-based small firms in general and then turn our attention to the case of biotech.     

Alternate signs of life: The growth of biotechnology industries in Shanghai and Bangalore

This paper explores the emergence of biotechnology centers in Shanghai and Bangalore by comparing their development to best practices in the literature for biotechnology cluster growth and development. Interviews with over fifty biotech companies and related institutions in China and India indicate that these regions are developing alternate models of low cost manufacturing and services that build on the current local base of knowledge and expertise. The ability to convert research into successful commercial activity was identified in both regions. The strong research capacity, private sector funding, and entrepreneurial environment deemed critical best practices were limited. New growth theory is used to explain these alternate approaches to technological and social change.     

Small-Firm Strategic Research Partnerships: The Case of Biotechnology

This paper provides an overview of the theoretical motivation and the empirical literature on small firm strategic alliances in biotechnology, an industry where these alliances have proliferated. We begin by examining the alliance strategy for knowledge-based small firms in general and then turn our attention to the case of biotech.     

Biotechnology and the Potential for a Radical Shift of Technology in Forest Industry

Is biotechnology a revolutionary technology that will dramatically transform present technological systems, industries and society or will the entrance of biotechnology into industry rather take the shape of incremental innovations without any deeper impact on dominating technological paradigms? The vast science and technology research in this area has focused on pharmaceuticals and neglected the potential role for large scale biomass handling activities like the forest industry in general and pulp and paper industry in particular. In addition the industry itself has not focused its R&D activities towards utilization of biotechnology on inputs, processes or products. This is a study on the technological system for pulp and paper facing the challenge of a radical shift of technology. The confrontation between the genuinely science based biotechnology and its community on the one hand, and the pulp and paper community (highly scientific within the framework of a low-technology industry) on the other, is analyzed as are the industrial and economic potentials and limitations of biotechnology in this area.     

Real options analysis on strategic partnerships of biotechnological start-ups

Since there is a mismatch between long-term basic research and short-term financial markets, the dependency of biotechnology (biotech) start-ups on strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies is expanding more than on venture capital. The research objectives are to examine the difference between license-fee elements, try to determine the innovation valuation in strategic partnerships, and minimise the risk in partnership formation for both sides. A key concept is that a biotech start-up is defined as a portfolio of real options based on an entrepreneur's ideas about investment opportunity. Methodologies used are compound options and stochastic optimisation for innovative but risky projects. In conclusion, this paper tries to address a wider scope with a deeper theoretical grounding, by using the real options perspective for the valuation of innovation partnership, through a biotech license-fee case study for simulation. Furthermore, the real option valuation can be expected to improve open innovation from matchmaking to innovation partnership.     

The influence of causation and effectuation logics on targeted policies: the cases of Singapore and Israel

We examine the causation and effectuation logics for implementing targeted biotechnology policies using two case studies: Singapore (causation) and Israel (effectuation). After more than a decade of implementing targeted biotechnology policies, both Singapore and Israel have failed to create fully fledged biotech clusters. Singapore has been unsuccessful in creating vibrant entrepreneurial activity that will support its transformation into a knowledge economy. Israel has failed to turn its 1000 small, dedicated biotechnology firms into a substantial engine of growth and employment. The paper questions how these two policy approaches influenced the targeting of the biotechnology sectors and identifies the limits of these approaches in supporting targeting. We conclude that a combination of the two logics is needed, especially when targeting complex sectors with a yet unknown development path.     

Book review

This article analyses the strategies of the agro-biotechnology industry to control and exploit plant-genetic knowledge, and the dilemmas that these strategies involve. The replicability of plants limits markets for commercial seeds, as it enables farmers to reproduce seeds themselves. The industry has therefore invented genetic-engineering techniques that will block the replicability of plants, and will effectively prevent farmers from saving their own seeds. However, this copy-protection technique— dubbed ‘Terminator’—is widely condemned in farming communities. The technology overrules intellectual property laws that exempt seed saving for private use, and it is likely to have a negative impact on medium-sized and small farming systems in developing countries. In this article it is argued that while copy protection in plants may expand seed markets, it may also seriously damage the reputation of the biotechnology industry. Corporate scientists and strategists should be more open to a public discussion about the fairness and legitimacy of seed production for private use.     

Terminating Piracy or Legitimate Seed Saving? The Use of Copy-Protection Technology in Seeds

This article analyses the strategies of the agro-biotechnology industry to control and exploit plant-genetic knowledge, and the dilemmas that these strategies involve. The replicability of plants limits markets for commercial seeds, as it enables farmers to reproduce seeds themselves. The industry has therefore invented genetic-engineering techniques that will block the replicability of plants, and will effectively prevent farmers from saving their own seeds. However, this copy-protection technique— dubbed 'Terminator'—is widely condemned in farming communities. The technology overrules intellectual property laws that exempt seed saving for private use, and it is likely to have a negative impact on medium-sized and small farming systems in developing countries. In this article it is argued that while copy protection in plants may expand seed markets, it may also seriously damage the reputation of the biotechnology industry. Corporate scientists and strategists should be more open to a public discussion about the fairness and legitimacy of seed production for private use.     

我国生物技术创新战略分析

生物经济正在成为继农业经济、工业经济、信息经济之后的新经济形态。面对生物经济发展的汹涌浪潮,世界各国都在抢占生物经济发展的制高点。我国应当把推动和引导生物产业革命的生物技术创新提升到战略高度。为此,我们需要系统地分析我国生物技术创新的战略优势,正确制订我国生物技术创新的战略内容、战略关键与战略保障。     

Network of Collaborations for Innovation: The Case of Biotechnology*

The 'life science' revolution related to the development of biotechnology affects many different markets. In the pharmaceutical business new drugs are continuously developed, tested, and submitted to governmental institutions for the required approval. In the agricultural business the so-called 'green revolution' is well under way with many new products designed in order to appeal to farmers or to consumers. The increasing pace of introduction of new biotech products—particularly drugs and agrochemical (Ag) foods—leads firms to look for collaborations in the different phases of the introduction process. Basing on an empirical study conducted on a sample of 27 organisations involved in the process of introduction of biotech products, the paper aims at comparing and contrasting the nature and the processes involved in inter-institutional collaborations occurring at various stages of new product development and commercialisation of new biotech products (particularly drugs and Ag foods).     

U.S. immigration regulations and India's information technology industry

The export-led growth of India's information technology (IT) industry has been nothing short of phenomenal over the past half-dozen years. Other studies have provided a number of explanations for the growth. This paper proposes that a significant factor has been overlooked or understated in prior explanations. Specifically, the Indian IT industry has utilized U.S. immigration regulations for competitive advantage to accelerate its growth. The importance of this factor is estimated through quantitative data analysis at the macro and firm levels. The analysis helps to explain why India's IT industry grew while that of other developing countries, with similar human capital resources and wage rates, did not. The U.S. Congress is currently debating U.S. immigration policies and may change them in the near future. Any changes will have significant effects on the future growth pattern of the Indian IT industry. Many developing countries have recognized India's success, and policymakers in those countries are implementing strategies to replicate it. The results from this study may help those policymakers better understand a key factor of India's success in exporting IT.     

Network of Collaborations for Innovation: The Case of Biotechnology

The ‘life science’ revolution related to the development of biotechnology affects many different markets. In the pharmaceutical business new drugs are continuously developed, tested, and submitted to governmental institutions for the required approval. In the agricultural business the so-called ‘green revolution’ is well under way with many new products designed in order to appeal to farmers or to consumers. The increasing pace of introduction of new biotech products—particularly drugs and agrochemical (Ag) foods—leads firms to look for collaborations in the different phases of the introduction process. Basing on an empirical study conducted on a sample of 27 organisations involved in the process of introduction of biotech products, the paper aims at comparing and contrasting the nature and the processes involved in inter-institutional collaborations occurring at various stages of new product development and commercialisation of new biotech products (particularly drugs and Ag foods).     

The international diffusion of biotechnology: the arrival of developing countries

According to conventional economic theory, countries tend to converge in economic and technological terms towards the leader. More recently, empirical approaches by economic historians (Abramovitz, Landes, Madison, Reinert) have found that while some countries are catching up, others are falling increasingly behind. Several theories compete to explain the precise mechanisms that explain how technological diffusion takes place. The paper reviews them and draws testable hypotheses for the study of international biotechnology diffusion. Biotechnologies are one of the leading sets of technologies developed in the late 20th century. They encompass applications in agriculture, chemicals, environment and pharmaceuticals. The United States has led the way in both scientific and industrial development of biotechnologies and these have quickly spread to Canada, Japan and Western Europe. Are the main developing countries adopting biotechnology? A study of the adoption of human health biotechnology in eight developing countries in Asia (China, India, Korea, and Singapore) and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico) was conducted, based on the analysis of in situ interviews, patents and scientific publication. The study shows a marked process of adoption and learning in science: each of the above-mentioned developing countries is increasing its share of world publication between 1996 and 2008. However, their share of biotechnology patents for the same period has barely increased. There are also regional differences in terms of sectoral concentration; Latin America, Argentina and Brazil are eager adopters of agricultural biotechnology and are moving up in the pharmaceutical records. Several Argentinean, Chinese, Indian, and South Korean pharmaceutical companies have been particularly active in the development of biogenerics.     

知识产权保护、FDI与国际收入转移

"加强知识产权保护能吸引更多外商直接投资(FDI),并能使后发国受益"这一命题能否构成支持加强后发国知识产权保护的论据?文章将知识产权保护对FDI、自主创新、国内模仿和国外模仿的影响纳入三方参与的两阶段动态博弈模型,讨论后发国通过加强知识产权保护来吸引FDI的政策效应。分析认为后发国通过加强知识产权保护能吸引更多FDI,但并不一定能从中获益。因为:FDI偏向进入能够对后发国产生最小收益的产业;加强知识产权保护产生了大量国际收入转移;通过加强知识产权保护,由FDI进入新行业而增加的利润将被已有FDI产业利润的减少所抵消。根据各行业特征选择相应的最优知识产权保护才能使总体福利最大化。     

Commercial use of GM crop technology: Identifying the drivers using life cycle methodology in a technology foresight framework

The complexity and advanced nature of modern biotechnology, and its extensive implications for society regarding prosperity, risk and ethics, make a view of the future that is comprehensible and transparent to society desirable. The objective of this feasibility study was to investigate methodologies for strategic planning and regulatory decision-making in technologies involving genetically modified (GM) crops. The planning and regulatory decisions of both the biotechnology industry and public authorities are considered. In the study, knowledge and opinion about a well-defined problem complex are systematically brought together in the consultation of a larger number of stakeholders and experts representing as many major perspectives as possible. On the basis of a test case on the development of a GM-ryegrass, this paper suggests a methodological approach to the uncertainties faced by the biotech industry and public authorities when GM crops are commercialized. The method used was a technology foresight (TF) framework, using a life cycle inventory (LCI) to define the problem complex, a stakeholder panel to identify drivers (of change) that influence the direction of future developments, and weighted stakeholder questionnaires to prioritize these drivers. Once quantified, the weighted stakeholder opinion generated a clear criterion for prioritizing drivers that were judged to be important in the future development of a GM-ryegrass but whose precise impact was uncertain. The four drivers prioritized were: being the first to market the GM-ryegrass, an efficient network on biomolecular know-how, public dialogue and participation in regulation procedures and utility value.     

International diffusion of steel technologies: Time-lag and the speed of diffusion

The article deals with the diffusion of two major innovations in the world's steel industry, the oxygen steel process and continuous casting. Twenty-one countries, including the socialist countries of Eastern Europe, are analyzed from the point of view of their ability to adopt technology from pioneering countries. Among capitalist countries, Great Britain and the United States appear to be slower than others. Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union as a group show a lower ability to adopt technologies than capitalist countries, even the slowest ones. G. Ray's hypothesis that countries that are late-comers in adopting a particular technology benefit from that and are faster in spreading it over their industry is challenged. The correlation analysis shows that at least in one case, the oxygen steel process, the late-comers are not faster in diffusion than countries that were first in introducing new technology. It is concluded from empirical findings that late-comers may not be faster in diffusion if there is a lack of good communication (the Eastern European countries case) or when the technology in question is relatively simple and benefits from being late are insignificant (the case of oxygen steel process).     

Are biotechnology and its clusters in crisis?

This paper asks whether biotechnology, in general, and the industry clusters of innovative biotechnology enterprises that have uniformly characterised its economic form, are now in a terminal crisis. Or are the difficulties that are clearly evident and described below surmountable and showing signs of being surmounted? The question of a crisis in biotechnology is important because so much faith has been placed in the technology over the past generation during which it has made great technical strides forward in medicine and other user communities (agro-food, energy, environment, security) and contributed significantly to healthcare and welfare gains while high hopes have long and justifiably been associated with its vibrant industry clusters. The paper postulates a crisis based on two key features of biotechnology. The first of these is an economic crisis in which enormous sums are required to research, develop and innovate new products, especially medical drugs. The second is epistemological and confronts the (reductionist) central dogma of biotechnology with the evolutionary implications of emergent systems biology.     

Exploring larger biotech research firm strategies: Projections from a comparison of small and larger firms

This is an exploratory study of larger biotech firms using insights from a head-to-head comparison of 49 small and 17 large U.S. biotech firms using archival data. We found small and large biotech firms to be significantly different from each other on R&D intensity and funding strategies. The findings are used to project and hypothesize about larger biotech firm growth strategies.Whereas R&D expenses in the small firms exceed total income by a wide margin, larger firms are able to cover most, if not all, of their R&D expenses. Thus, the larger firms are relatively more financially viable. Results also show that the larger firms derive a greater proportion of their revenues from collaborative research agreements (CRAs), which has key implications for revenue growth in these firms.Based on the findings we project R&D expenses and collaborative research revenues for biotech firms as they grow in size.     

The 1988 EC directive on biotechnological inventions and the UK biotechnology industry

The article, based on a recent survey of UK biotechnology companies, highlights the complex interaction between the organization of R&D and the patenting policy in the biotech industry. Some of the more interesting findings include: the limited extent of private investment in biotechnological R&D; the existence of two markedly different R&D strategies (product- vs. process-based); the distinction between first- and second-generation patents and their effects on market structure. The core of the article deals with the likely effects on patenting behaviour of changes in patent law - both as envisaged in the October 1988 Directive and as suggested by recent theoretical research on the economics of patents. The Directive in its current form is reported to have no discernible effect on the extent and organization of R&D, whereas the industry's response to a series of hypothetical changes suggests that any definition or patentability standards has far-reaching repercussions on: (1) the allocation of resources between research and development; (2) the conditions of entry into the industry; (3) the balance of bargaining power between firms of unequal size (or pursuing different R&D strategies); and ultimately (4) the allocation of technological surplus between consumers and producers.