Basic science as a prescription for breakthrough inventions in the pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

This analysis contributes to the understanding of the role of basic science in generating breakthrough inventions in the pharmaceutical industry. Recognizing the within-firm heterogeneity of inventive activities, we look not only at the firm level, but also at the firm-technology level for characteristics determining breakthroughs. A key finding is that firms pursuing basic science are more likely to produce breakthrough inventions. At the same time, doing more basic science in science disciplines that are closely linked to a given technology domain does not increase the likelihood of BTs in that particular technology. The insignificance of basic science intensity at the technology level, coupled to the significance at the firm level, suggests that the breakthrough rewards from science capacity are not reaped in the technology areas immediately involved in basic science, but in other areas of the technology portfolio of the firm. Our findings are consistent with the view of science as a map to span processes of local search and the wider applicability of scientific insights.

Determinants of radical drug innovation: a systematic literature review

“…Studies that use this approach typically assume that a patent (i.e., invention) will be successfully commercialized at some point in the future. However, such an assumption is questionable because not all highly cited patents lead to commercial products (Malva et al 2015 ).…”

“…There are different ways in which pharmaceutical firms can create new knowledge that may eventually lead to radical drug innovations. One approach involves investing in pharmaceutical R&D, particularly in basic pharmaceutical sciences, which Malva et al ( 2015 ) define as “the systematic study directed towards greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and observable facts without specific immediate commercial applications in mind” (p. 673). In the current review, we found a number of studies indicating that firms pursuing basic science research are more likely to generate radical drug innovations than those who do not (Jong and Slavova 2014 ; Malva et al 2015 ; Sternitzke 2010 ).…”

“…One approach involves investing in pharmaceutical R&D, particularly in basic pharmaceutical sciences, which Malva et al ( 2015 ) define as “the systematic study directed towards greater knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and observable facts without specific immediate commercial applications in mind” (p. 673). In the current review, we found a number of studies indicating that firms pursuing basic science research are more likely to generate radical drug innovations than those who do not (Jong and Slavova 2014 ; Malva et al 2015 ; Sternitzke 2010 ). A potential mechanism for this finding may be that the buildup of internal basic scientific knowledge generates more absorptive capacity, which enables company scientists to identify, absorb, and integrate critical external knowledge, thereby increasing their likelihood of developing radical drug innovations (Belderbos et al 2016 ).…”

Technological embeddedness as a determinant of techno-entrepreneurship

“…Given that scientific research investigates the causal mechanisms of various scientific phenomena, organizations involved in developing the research tend to search for useful combinations of prior research, eliminate fruitless paths of research, and motivate themselves to continue even when the results of the research yield negative outcomes (Fleming and Sorenson, 2004;Schumpeter, 1939;Nelson and Winter, 1982;Henderson and Clark, 1990). Through this process, scientific research facilitates developing new technologies or inventions (Malva et al, 2015;Fleming and Sorenson, 2004). For example, the field of biotechnology emerged based on scientific research investigating biological phenomena (Zucker and Darby, 1996).…”

Fundamental Sciences and Fundamental Medicine

“…В последние годы появился ставший популярным тер-мин «трансляционные» исследования, который подразу-мевает базовые изыскания, исследовательская стратегия которых наиболее тесно ориентирована на пациента, то есть научные достижения максимально быстро кон-вертируются на пользу пациенту [25]. Трансляционные исследования в различных научно-исследовательских ме-дицинских учреждениях мира составляют разную (как правило, небольшую) долю от общего объема научных исследований учреждения.…”