The biotechnology industry in the United States: Formulating a conceptual industry model.

摘要

The evolution of late twentieth century scientific discovery produced a series of connected paradigms spawning a new biotechnology industry, founded on molecular biology, genetics and related scientific disciplines producing a revolution in human medical care and expectations that remarkable advances lie ahead. This research uses establishment data to examine the geography and properties of the U.S. biotechnology industry at three scales, culminating in the formulation of a conceptual model of the new biotechnology industry. A national analysis develops overall industry characteristics and locational patterns. The distribution of federal research funds from the National Institutes of Health is examined for its influence on the industry. A regional analysis of the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area documents the two-decade emergence of this region as a leading component of the U.S. industry. Unique factors stimulate a strong regional economy and a productive set of incubator conditions through the presence of the federal government, especially the National Institutes of Health, to support the growth of the biotechnology sector and the formation of a large information-based technology sector. Standardized case studies of five regional firms confirm a pattern of business and scientific behavior that, combined with the national and regional analyses, are used to formulate a conceptual industry model generalizing industry characteristics and behavior. The model links scientific and entrepreneurial motivations, the role of federal research expenditures, and federal regulatory approval of the products coming from these new biotechnology firms. Start-up companies are shown operating in a highly competitive international marketplace of product development that is uniquely regulated. New firms are shown to sustain themselves through a process that relies on creative financing with a strong reliance on collaborative agreements, which in some respects, demonstrate locational patterns that are inconsistent with behavior found in other technology sectors. The economic behavior and regulatory environment impacting these new businesses has implications for national, state and local governmental support and oversight, as scientific discoveries of entrepreneurially driven companies place themselves at the apex of human science in the twenty-first century. Policy implications are suggested in a concluding element of the thesis.