The datafication of reproduction: time-lapse embryo imaging and the commercialisation of IVF.

The 21st century has witnessed the emergence of in silico reproduction alongside the familiar in vitro reproduction (e.g. IVF), as increasingly large and automatically-generated data sets have come to play an instrumental role in assisted reproduction. The article addresses this datafication of reproduction by analysing time-lapse embryo imaging, a key data-driven technology for embryo selection in IVF cycles. It discusses the new forms of knowledge and value creation enabled by data-driven embryo selection and positions this technology as a harbinger of a wider datafication of (reproductive) health. By analysing the new ways of seeing embryos with 'in silico vision,' the 'data generativity' of developing embryos and the patenting of embryo selection algorithms, I argue that this datafied method of embryo selection may not just result in more or less 'IVF success,' but also affects the conceptualisation and commercialisation of the assisted reproductive process. In doing so, I highlight how the datafication of reproduction both reflects and reinforces a consolidating trend in the fertility sector-characterised by mergers resulting in larger fertility chains, online platforms organising fertility care and expanded portfolios of companies aiming to cover each step of the IVF cycle.The Wellcome Trust (Grant 209829/Z/17/Z) and the Alan Turing Institute

INFACT technology watch report

This research has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement nº 776487. Furthermore, some of the authors (B.J. and V.H.-S.) were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities under the framework of the R&D project RTI2018-098966-B-I00.Summary: This report presents a bibliometric study on patents and scientific publications related to the following technologies involved in INFACT: airborne electromagnetic methods, airborne gravity gradiometry, airborne magnetometry and drone-borne hyperspectral imaging. A statistical analysis of the documents reveals the main players, technology trends and collaboration patterns via bibliometric techniques

World Top R&D Investors: Industrial Property Strategies in the Digital Economy

The speed, scale and scope of the digital transformation and the widespread use of digital technologies in most aspects of our daily lives are changing the way we work, innovate, produce, interact and live. Knowledge flows almost instantaneously and digitalised information can be infinitely replicated, making the exploitation of knowledge a key factor for competitiveness. At the same time, changes at the local level may have global implications and innovation ecosystems become more and more global. These dynamics challenge policy making, and call for understanding the drivers of change, detecting trends in a timely fashion, and acting in a coordinated manner. The internet of things, digital manufacturing and 3D printing, industry 4.0 and big data are all components and drivers of the digital transformation, but the ways in which this new technological revolution will transform industries, countries and societies remain difficult to fully anticipate. As we become increasingly aware of the opportunities and the challenges of the digital economy, we also need to better understand how these technologies are forged and to identify the key players in such changes. The original data and statistics on the innovation output of the world's top corporate R&D investors presented in this report and its focus on digital technologies represent an important step towards this direction. It results from a long-term collaboration between the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and their joint efforts to provide up-to-date comparable data and state-of-the-art indicators and analysis. This report is directed at a number of stakeholders, including policy makers, industry representatives, practitioners and the scientific community. By exploiting information on patents, trademarks and designs, this work sheds light on the top R&D investors worldwide in the digital economy, their innovative and creative activities and their branding strategies. It is accompanied by a publicly available database that can be used for further analysis in support of evidence-based policy making.JRC.B.3-Territorial Developmen

Leaping the hurdles in developing regenerative treatments for the intervertebral disc from preclinical to clinical

Chronic back and neck pain is a prevalent disability, often caused by degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Because current treatments for this condition are less than satisfactory, a great deal of effort is being applied to develop new solutions, including regenerative strategies. However, the path from initial promising idea to clinical use is frought with many hurdles to overcome. Many of the keys to success are not necessarily linked to science or innovation. Successful translation to clinic will also rely on planning and awareness of the hurdles. It will be essential to plan your entire path to clinic from the outset and to do this with a multidisciplinary team. Take advise early on regulatory aspects and focus on generating the proof required to satisfy regulatory approval. Scientific demonstration and societal benefits are important, but translation cannot occur without involving commercial parties, which are instrumental to support expensive clinical trials. This will only be possible when intellectual property can be protected sufficiently to support a business model. In this manner, commercial, societal, medical, and scientific partners can work together to ultimately improve patient health. Based on literature surveys and experiences of the co‐authors, this opinion paper presents this pathway, highlights the most prominent issues and hopefully will aid in your own transational endeavors

A literature review of intellectual property management in technology transfer offices: From appropriation to utilization

This paper presents a systematic literature review of the intersection between intellectual property (IP) management and technology transfer offices (TTOs) in the context of universities in order to understand how TTOs manage IP. IP management is an important issue, as it both enables and restricts the utilization of research results and impacts the competitiveness of technology-based businesses. The literature review shows that previous studies of IP management in TTOs tend to adopt a simplistic view of IP management, recommending that all valuable inventions should be patented. Moreover, academic research into TTOs and actual TTO practices both appear to focus on improving efficiency and outputs measured in terms of numbers of patents, licenses and spin-offs. We call this established view the appropriation mode of TTOs and question it based on the logics of publicly funded research and modern IP management. In its place, we suggest the utilization mode of TTOs, in which TTOs manage IP from publicly funded research in order to govern innovation processes and enable utilization of research results in a broader sense. Several recommendations are provided for both researchers and practitioners

Scientometric and Patentometric Analyses to Determine the Knowledge Landscape in Innovative Technologies: the Case of 3D Bioprinting

This research proposes an innovative data model to determine the landscape of emerging technologies. It is based on a competitive technology intelligence methodology that incorporates the assessment of scientific publications and patent analysis production, and is further supported by experts' feedback. It enables the definition of the growth rate of scientific and technological output in terms of the top countries, institutions and journals producing knowledge within the field as well as the identification of main areas of research and development by analyzing the International Patent Classification codes including keyword clusterization and co-occurrence of patent assignees and patent codes. This model was applied to the evolving domain of 3D bioprinting. Scientific documents from the Scopus and Web of Science data-bases, along with patents from 27 authorities and 140 countries, were retrieved. In total, 4782 scientific publications and 706 patents were identified from 2000 to mid-2016. The number of scientific documents published and patents in the last five years showed an annual average growth of 20% and 40%, respectively. Results indicate that the most prolific nations and institutions publishing on 3D bioprinting are the USA and China, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and Tsinghua University (China), respectively. Biomaterials and Biofabrication are the predominant journals. The most prolific patenting countries are China and the USA; while Organovo Holdings Inc. (USA) and Tsinghua University (China) are the institutions leading. International Patent Classification codes reveal that most 3D bioprinting inventions intended for medical purposes apply porous or cellular materials or biologically active materials. Knowledge clusters and expert drivers indicate that there is a research focus on tissue engineering including the fabrication of organs, bioinks and new 3D bioprinting systems. Our model offers a guide to researchers to understand the knowledge production of pioneering technologies, in this case 3D bioprinting.This work was funded by Tecnologico de Monterrey through the Escuela de Ingenieria y Ciencias and also supported by a grant from the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico (Grant number:261683).The funders had no role in study design, datacollection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Hirarchical Growth: Basic and Applied Research

We develop a model that incorporates salient features of growth in modern economies. We combine the expanding-variety growth model through horizontal innovations with a hierarchy of basic and applied research. The former extends the knowledge base, while the latter commercializes it. Two-way spillovers reinforce the productivity of research in each sector. We establish the existence of balanced growth paths. Along such paths the stock of ideas and the stock of commercialized blueprints for intermediate goods grow with the same rate. Basic research is a necessary and sufficient condition for economic growth. We show that there can be two different facets of growth in the economy. First, growth may be entirely shaped by investments in basic research if applied research operates at the knowledge frontier. Second, long-run growth may be shaped by both basic and applied research and growth can be further stimulated by research subsidies. We illustrate different types of growth processes by examples and polar cases when only upward or downward spillovers between basic and applied research are present.