Open Innovation, Knowledge Networks, Biotechnology, Bioconvergence, Intellectual Property, Open Source Drug Discovery
The Ascend Research Network—Enabling Human Capacity Development
http://www.bioendeavor.net/newsUrl.asp?nId=313881
In the world’s effort to control and prevent non-communicable diseases (NCD) it is critical to develop the necessary... more In the world’s effort to control and prevent non-communicable diseases (NCD) it is critical to develop the necessary human capacity. The potential and benefits certainly exist for educational and collaboration program development involving NCD control/prevention initiatives, institutions and students in disease endemic countries. With the burden greatest in low and middle income countries (LMIC) the incentive exists for such countries to participate in the dialogue and creation of human capacity development programs. Partnerships between institutions in the developed world and those in LMIC will provide for unique knowledge transfer opportunities. One such example is the Ascend Research Network (Ascend).
Download (.pdf) A Knowledge Perspective of Strategic Alliances and Management of Biopharmaceutical Innovation: Evolving Research Paradigms
Information from the Human Genome Project is being integrated into the drug discovery and development process to... more Information from the Human Genome Project is being integrated into the drug discovery and development process to permit novel drug targets to be identified, clinical trial testing to be made more efficient, and efficacious therapeutics to be approved and made widely available. Knowledge of the genome will allow for the description and quantification of disease and susceptibility to disease as informational errors or deficits. The creation and application of knowledge occur through cooperative or competitive interactions, often reflecting the perceived value of the knowledge. The public or private value of the knowledge, both for itself and for potential applications, can be determined through an understanding of the classification and characterization of this knowledge, as well as the position of the knowledge within the drug discovery and development pipeline. The transformation of knowledge from a purely public good to a quasi-private good has highlighted the need for balance between incentives for the market provision of scientific and technological knowledge by an innovator and incentives for the market provision of incremental knowledge by a follow-on developer. It has been suggested that a patent system developed for a discrete model of innovation may no longer be optimal for an information-based, cumulative model of innovation. Consequently, it is necessary to reanalyze models of intellectual property protection and strategies of knowledge sharing in biopharmaceutical discovery research. Under certain conditions, the biotech commons is an efficient institution that can preserve downstream opportunities for multiple researchers fairly and efficiently. A framework for classifying and characterizing discovery knowledge is developed in this research and the role of research consortia in preserving the biotech commons is analyzed. This study also addresses the value of pooling versus unilaterally holding knowledge, the benefits associated with appropriating from the commons, the role of knowledge characteristics in bargaining between licensor and licensee, and the overall management of the biotech commons.
Research Section: Open Source Biopharmaceutical Innovation-A Mode of Entry for Firms In Emerging Markets
The open source model provides a valuable framework for collective knowledge production and dissemination. Mirroring... more
The open source model provides a valuable framework for collective knowledge production and dissemination. Mirroring the efforts of the open source community that developed Linux, open biopharmaceutical initiatives are enabling companies to access knowledge-based resources critical to drug development. The objective of these initiatives is to preserve the downstream technological opportunities for multiple firms.
As economies in emerging markets enter the biopharmaceutical arena, it is essential that developed economies share not only technological expertise, but also their experiences regarding knowledge production and dissemination. The goals should be to assist these economies to participate on a level playing field with respect to market entry and product development, to protect local knowledge, and ensure fair access to global knowledge as well as technology. Maintaining and building the public domain with particular attention to knowledge that is of benefit to these economies can allow researchers to quickly and cost-effectively access knowledge.
In this paper, two models are developed to understand how open source strategic alliances and open licensing can be used as modes of entry into the biopharmaceutical industry by firms in emerging markets. Case examples and qualitative data are both used to provide a basis for these models.
Modelling the incentive to participate in open source biopharmaceutical innovation
The open source model provides a valuable framework for collective knowledge production and dissemination. Open... more
The open source model provides a valuable framework for collective knowledge production and dissemination. Open knowledge networks and other cooperative strategies (classified as open source discovery initiatives) are enabling biopharmaceutical companies to access disembodied knowledge-based resources critical to downstream drug development. The objective of these cooperative strategic alliances is to preserve the downstream technological opportunities for multiple firms. When upstream discovery research cannot yield commercial products and when the costs associated with excessive upstream competition are too high, companies jointly benefit from cooperative knowledge production and open knowledge dissemination. An analysis of 39 open source initiatives (consortia) provides us with information on: the likely participants in such initiatives, the focus of knowledge production activities, the characteristics of the knowledge generated, and the management of joint knowledge assets. Based on this analysis, we use game models to understand the decision to participate in such strategic alliances better. Our game models provide a simple but elegant framework for understanding the impact of changing knowledge structures on the payoffs associated with cooperation and defection in knowledge production, and therefore on behaviour.
Developing a Framework for Understanding and Enabling Open Source Drug Discovery
Open source drug discovery is increasingly being sought as a solution for managing product development complexities.... more
Open source drug discovery is increasingly being sought as a solution for managing product development complexities. Three drivers encouraging the use of the open source strategy include: upstream knowledge-based complexities associated with complementary assets, technological complexities given the scale of research and interdependencies between disciplines and downstream commercialization complexities. While literature currently discusses the need for open source strategies and their outcomes, we have reached a critical stage for a framework to cohesively understand how the drivers affect the open source models chosen as well as the governance strategies to ensure a successful outcome both in terms of knowledge access and product development. In this paper, an initial framework is designed with a focus on the type of participant as impacting the motivation to participate in an open source initiative, the objective of any open source strategy as impacting the structural model adopted and the structure of knowledge produced as impacting its management. It is anticipated that this framework should then provide an opportunity to develop governance rules for open source drug discovery initiatives.
Analyzing and Organizing Nanotechnology Development: Application of the Institutional Analysis Development Framework to Nanotechnology Consortia
Technovation: Available Online December 16 2011
Governments and companies around the globe have embraced nanotechnology as a strategically critical pan industrial... more Governments and companies around the globe have embraced nanotechnology as a strategically critical pan industrial technology. Many view it as one of the essential foundation technology bases of the next Schumpeterian wave. A number of commercial and government sponsored groups have developed a variety of consortia centered on the commercial promise of nanotechnology. Yet the optimal management of these consortia has proven elusive to the point that some suggest that they cannot be managed at all. If these consortia are important, and their effective management crucial, then there is cause for concern. We utilize the case study method to create a nanotechnology consortia management diagnostic model based on institutional analysis development (IAD). Nanotechnology consortia are formed for a variety of purposes and their stakeholders include governments, industries, large firms, SME, entrepreneurial enterprises, and supporting firms.
Managing Knowledge Assets under Conditions of Radical Change: The Case of the Pharmaceutical Industry
The Transition Point Model is designed to assist firms to effectively manage both knowledge assets and the associated intellectual property in the current biopharmaceutical paradigm.
There is no industry where firms link their search for competitive advantage more closely to intellectual property... more
There is no industry where firms link their search for competitive advantage more closely to intellectual property (IP) than those in the pharmaceutical industry. Yet a major paradigm change is occurring in this industry. New technological developments are increasingly being driven by advances in biology, nanotechnology, and the computational sciences. In this paper, we investigate how this radical change in the investigation, discovery, and manufacture of pharmaceuticals has affected intellectual property management practices.
Large pharmaceutical firms, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and public institutional knowledge generators have recently started to respond by developing new IP management techniques born from the use of consortia to manage the complexities of knowledge generation. Hence, we leverage innovation and knowledge management literature, and use the innovation journey and case study methodologies to investigate both traditional pharmaceutical IP practices as well as emerging strategies. We distil from this effort an IP model—the transition point model—designed to assist firms to effectively manage both knowledge assets and the associated intellectual property in the current paradigm.
Convergence Innovation: Nanotechnology Development at the Intersection of Disciplines, Organizations and Products
BioEndeavor 2011
Convergence Innovation is the paradigm where discovery and technology creation occur at the intersection of multiple... more Convergence Innovation is the paradigm where discovery and technology creation occur at the intersection of multiple disciplines and organizations. In nanotechnology, convergence between the chemical, biological, cognitive, physical and information sciences is evident. Firms and researchers will cross the boundaries between these disciplines to create technological value--finding solutions to address health, environmental and energy challenges. In parallel will be emergence of new models of collaboration to enable knowledge creation and knowledge dissemination. Central to Convergence Innovation will be a determination of the common value of knowledge versus the private value of knowledge across the associated disciplines—with the goal of advancing and commercializing technology.
