Accumulation of Technological Capabilities for Innovation and Strengthening Competitiveness in the Biotechnology Ecosystem for Human Health in Brazil

Abstract

This document presents a partial version of the study in progress on the process of accumulation of technological capabilities for production and innovation activities, its sources and impacts on competitive performance, at the company level, in the biotechnology sector for human health in Brazil. Considering the high strategic importance of these industries for the Brazilian economy, their ability to innovate and compete internationally has a direct impact on the degree and extent of socioeconomic development in Brazil. Despite the number of studies on these industries in Brazil, there is a huge lack of systematic and dynamic evidence and explanations, with an adequate degree of detail and depth, at an intra-industry and business level that can illuminate and support the design and implementation of public policies combined with business strategies aimed at strengthening innovative technological capabilities and the international competitiveness of these industries in Brazil. Based on an innovative methodology, scientifically validated at an international level, and widely used in the examination of other process-intensive industries in Brazil, the research proposed here aims to: (a) Generate new evidence and explanations about the process of capacity accumulation technologies, their sources and their impacts on innovative activities and competitiveness indicators, based on evidence from selected companies in the pharmochemical and pharmaceutical industries in Brazil. Evidence will be collected and examined at the company level and anonymously and the survey data, although at the micro and intra-industry level, will be treated in an aggregated way. (b) Generate inputs and support for the design, redesign and/or improvement of public policies combined with business strategies aimed at strengthening the international competitiveness of the pharmaceutical and pharmochemical industry in Brazil. Considering that innovation and strengthening competitiveness are processes, this research, if carried out, would have the potential to stimulate efforts to build a continuous monitoring system for indicators of innovation and competitiveness in these industries in Brazil, based on evidence, analysis and methodology of the research.  

Keywords: Technological Capability, Technological Learning, Innovation, Biotechnology, Human Health