Innovation network in reasearch in genomics in the USA

Abstract

In this paper the organization of the research network in genomics in the USA as well as the hability of it to produce innovations in the pharmaceutical, food and agricultural sectors are analyzed. This field of research has particular organizational characteristics due to the set of factors absolute necessary for the development of it: high costs of research, requirement for integration of highly qualified human resources in many fields of knowledge and intensive scientific work. The outlining of these problems call for the need of negotiations among universities, firms and government, such as, as a result of initiatives among these three institutions, both research institutions as industrial enterprises are led to introduce innovations. This process involves many different dynamics, in the fields of knowledge production, market as well as in the resulting forces from interaction between those two. The methodological approach, which gave origin to the analysis from these three standpoints, is provided by the concepts developed in the Triple Helix Model (Etzkowitz and Leydesdorff, 1996). The pattern of integration among the different components of the network includes multiple forms of connection and institutional cooperation. The use of approach techniques included as well the common use of additional resources, such as databases and laboratories. The dynamics of production of knowledge and market dynamics are set and co- ordinated by means of legal instruments.