Entrepreneurship in biotechnology: The case of four start-ups in the Upper-Rhine Biovalley.

This paper explores entrepreneurship in biotech through the in depth analysis of four new ventures located in the Upper-Rhine Biovalley. One of the strengths of this paper is the presence of both successful cases of entrepreneurship and of cases of failures. This gives the opportunity to discuss the role of several factors on the performance of a new biotech venture. Three points particularly comes out of this study: The importance of public science, without which new biotech firms could hardly exist; the role of the patent system, the importance of which we link to the business model adopted by the firm; and the importance of collaborations, which we study through the concept of distributed entrepreneurship.Intellectual property rights, patents, science, distributed entrepreneurship, collective invention.

Brevet, innovation modulaire et collaboration : Le cas des vaccins géniques.

Au-delà de ses fonctions en termes de protection et de financement de l’innovation, le brevet est aussi un instrument de médiation et un support d’interactions. Dans le cas du développement des nouveaux vaccins issus du génie génétique, nous montrons qu’il est une composante essentielle de la production d’innovation. Un vaccin génique se construit en effet à partir de trois modules fondamentaux : l’antigène, le vecteur, et l’adjuvant. L’avènement des techniques du génie génétique favorise un développement autonome de ces composants, aussi bien sur les plans technique qu'organisationnel ou cognitif. Les brevets deviennent alors des instruments stratégiques d’information et de négociation dans l’élaboration de l’architecture du produit. Ils jouent un rôle d'interface entre des organisations, des trajectoires technologiques et des champs de savoir hétérogènes.Droit de Propriété Intellectuelle, vaccins, génomique, modularité, innovation collective.

Brevet, innovation modulaire et collaboration

Au-delà de ses fonctions en termes de protection et de financement de l’innovation, le brevet est aussi un instrument de médiation et un support d’interactions. Dans le cas du développement des nouveaux vaccins issus du génie génétique, nous montrons qu’il est une composante essentielle de la production d’innovation. Un vaccin génique se construit en effet à partir de trois modules fondamentaux : l’antigène, le vecteur, et l’adjuvant. L’avènement des techniques du génie génétique favorise un développement autonome de ces composants, aussi bien sur les plans techniques, qu’organisationnel ou cognitif. Les brevets deviennent alors des instruments stratégiques d’information et de négociation dans l’élaboration de l’architecture du produit. Ils jouent un rôle d’interface entre des organisations, des trajectoires technologiques et des champs de savoir hétérogènes.Beyond their function of protecting and rewarding innovation, patents are increasingly used as mediation instruments and as vehicles for interactions. Focusing on the development of new, genetically engineered vaccines, we show that they are central components of the production of innovation. A genetically engineered vaccine is constituted by three basic modules: the antigen, the vector and the adjuvant. The advent of genetic engineering techniques promotes the autonomous development of each of these blocks at the technical as well as the organizational and the cognitive levels. Patents become therefore strategic instruments and negotiation devices throughout the elaboration of product architecture. They act as an interface between heterogeneous organizations, technological trajectories and corpus of knowledge

Entrepreneurship, Investment and Spatial Dynamics: Lessons and Implications for an Enlarged EU

International audienc

Partenariats Public–Prive en Genomique : la construction de compromis au sein d'organisations hybrides

National audienc

START-UP CREATION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY: LESSONS FROM THE CASE OF FOUR NEW VENTURES IN THE UPPER RHINE BIOVALLEY

This paper explores start-up creation in biotech through an in-depth analysis of four new ventures located in the Upper Rhine Biovalley. This analysis helps us discuss the role of several factors in the performance of a new biotech firm. The study specifically outlines three elements, namely: the importance of public science, without which new biotech firms cannot exist; the role of the patent system, which impacts the business model adopted by the firm; and the importance of collaborations, which we study through the concept of distributed entrepreneurship.Intellectual property rights, patents, science, distributed entrepreneurship, collective invention

Strategic Reasons for Patenting: Between Exclusion and Coordination Rationales

This contribution aims at analyzing the role of patents in inter-organization networks in the field of biotechnology. We examine the traditional rationale for firms to apply for a patent, which focuses on the protection against competition as the basic motive of application, and we claim that another, complementary motive should be explicitly taken into account: The role of patent as a negotiation and/or cooperation instrument. We illustrate our main propositions through the case study of an emergent network, namely the cluster of Upper-Rhine Biovalley.

Strategic Reasons for Patenting: Between Exclusion and Coordination Rationales

International audienc

Le rôle du brevet dans les biotechnologies: Le cas de la BioValley du Rhin Supérieur

National audienc