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Motivation: PubMed is a primary source of biomedical information comprising search tool function and the biomedical literature from MEDLINE which is the US National Library of Medicine premier bibliographic database, life science journals and online books. Complimentary tools to PubMed have been developed to help the users search for literature and acquire knowledge. However, these tools are insufficient to overcome the difficulties of the users due to the proliferation of biomedical literature. A new method is needed for searching the knowledge in biomedical field. Methods: A new method is proposed in this study for visualizing the recent research trends based on the retrieved documents corresponding to a search query given by the user. The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) are used as the primary analytical element. MeSH terms are extracted from the literature and the correlations between them are calculated. A MeSH network, called MeSH Net, is generated as the final result based on the Pathfinder Network algorithm. Results: A case study for the verification of proposed method was carried out on a research area defined by the search query (immunotherapy and cancer and “tumor microenvironment”). The MeSH Net generated by the method is in good agreement with the actual research activities in the research area (immunotherapy). Conclusion: A prototype application generating MeSH Net was developed. The application, which could be used as a “guide map for travelers”, allows the users to quickly and easily acquire the knowledge of research trends. Combination of PubMed and MeSH Net is expected to be an effective complementary system for the researchers in biomedical field experiencing difficulties with search and information analysis.

Increasing costs, risks, and productivity problems in the pharmaceutical industry are important recent issues in the biomedical field. Open innovation is proposed as a solution to these issues. However, little statistical analysis related to collaboration in the pharmaceutical industry has been conducted so far. Meanwhile, not many cases have analyzed the clinical trials database, even though it is the information source with the widest coverage for the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of this study is to test the clinical trials information as a probe for observing the status of the collaboration network and open innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. This study applied the social network analysis method to clinical trials data from 1980 to 2016 in ClinicalTrials.gov. Data were divided into four time periods-1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s-and the collaboration network was constructed for each time period. The characteristic of each network was investigated. The types of agencies participating in the clinical trials were classified as a university, national institute, company, or other, and the major players in the collaboration networks were identified. This study showed some phenomena related to the pharmaceutical industry that could provide clues to policymakers about open innovation. If follow-up studies were conducted, the utilization of the clinical trial database could be further expanded, which is expected to help open innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution caused by innovative technologies is an irresistible megatrend, and many companies, institutions, and major countries are making efforts to participate. The World Economic Forum took the lead in discussing the Fourth Industrial Revolution, adding the issue to its 2016 agenda, and found that many governments, including that of Korea, were concerned about how to support their nation’s participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and were pursuing programs to support such efforts. In this study, we describe one of those programs, the Korean government’s Flagship Project Support Program (FPSP), which supports latecomers in creating open platforms and creating new business ideas in innovative technological industries. The program helps businesses overcome entry barriers to existing business ecosystems established by big technological players in growing fields such as smart cars, the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), etc. The purpose of this study is to determine whether latecomers and small- and medium-sized companies that are experiencing difficulties in their own innovation can succeed in innovation through the Korean government’s FPSP. This study performed a comprehensive and qualitative analysis based on the Logic Model Framework consisting of an investigation of business ecosystems before and after the FPSP, assessment of outcomes, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the FPSP. This study shows that open platforms resulting from the FPSP successfully innovated business models in Korea. Our study, therefore, has implications for other governments seeking to play a role in supporting the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

are both based at KISTEP, Technology Foresight Division, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Heyoung Yang is Senior Research Fellow at KISTEP, Future Planning Division, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Abstract Purpose -The aim of this paper is to describe procedural characteristics of the 4th technology foresight (TF) using search engines to discover emerging issues; analytic framework development to discover future needs; future technologies considering future needs as well as technology development; detailed description of future technology; analytical discussions of Delphi survey results; developing spatial-specific scenarios and illustrations; and examining possible adverse effects of future technologies. Korea performs TF every 5 years to establish science and technology policy and strategies. In the 4th TF, future technologies that might be developed by 2035 were discovered and Delphi survey was conducted to examine current development status, anticipated times of technology development and public use, plans to secure these technologies, etc.Design/methodology/approach -This paper divides procedure employed in the 4th TF into three steps and explains seven characteristics related to its procedure. Findings -Improvement of the TF procedure will increase the reliability and applicability of its results. Originality/value -This paper consists of original results which include improved procedure and its implication by researchers who participated in the 4th TF. It will provide a useful example for other nations, hoping to introduce TF to set up national science and technology policy.