Innovation and competitiveness in European biotechnology

This report analyses the current status of innovation and production systems in European biotechnology, and, in particular, the innovative capacity and related factors that are some of the major determinants of the competitiveness of European biotechnology firms. The report aims to expand empirical knowledge on the current state and performance of the new European biotechnology industry. It assesses the institutional, legal, cultural and industrial variables that affect industrial growth and competitiveness in biotechnology. It integrates available statistics and sources of information with an original data set specifically aimed at giving an account of the structure of industrial biotechnology in Europe. The database provides information on location, number of employees, technological and market specialisation, R&D and collaborative activities, of biotechnology firms across Europe, with particular reference to the small Dedicated Biotechnology Firms (DBFs). Section II presents the main general indicators of European innovative activities in biotechnology. Section III provides a detailed analysis of R&D activities and research collaborations of European biotechnology companies, in the context of the international division of innovative labour within the field. Section IV analyses the structure of the new European biotechnology industry and the new DBFs that entered the industry during the 1990s, while Section V analyses the essential features of biotechnology clusters in Europe. Section VI reviews briefly the institutional, legal, and cultural factors that have an impact on the evolution and performances of the biotechnology industry. The final section summarises the main findings of the Report.