Exploring Interlinkages between National and Sectoral Innovation Systems for Rapid Technological Catch-up: Case of Indian Biopharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

The emergence of the sectoral systems of innovation (SSI) framework for analysing shifts in technological trajectory and economic growth has evoked a great deal of interest. Many researchers working on the National Systems of Innovation (NSI) concept have welcomed the approach and shown interest in the interplay between national and sectoral frameworks and related policy prescriptions. This paper attempts to analyse emerging and missing linkages between SSI and NSI in the biopharmaceutical sector in India. It does so in the light of major expansion in the Indian pharmaceutical industry and the new efforts to incorporate strategies targeting biotechnology innovation. The paper studies the policy regime facilitating this new era and discusses the future growth prospects of the Indian biopharmaceutical industry.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Saikat Sinha Roy and two anonymous referees of this journal for their comments on an earlier draft. The usual disclaimer applies.

Notes

1. Biopharmaceuticals are therapeutic or preventative medicines that are derived from living cells, using recombinant DNA technology. Conventional pharmaceuticals are generally small molecules, whereas biopharmaceuticals are typically proteins, peptides, nucleic acids or inactivated viruses/bacteria. The biopharmaceuticals include insulin, hepatitis B vaccine, erythropoietin, human growth hormones.

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