Accelerating the technological life cycle through convergence: trends from herbal medicine patents and insights from case studies in Asia Pacific

Abstract

Research and innovation play a major part in affecting technological convergence, which in turn plays a key role in the advancement of the technological life cycle. In this paper, we present an evolutionary perspective of how patent keyword clusters evolve in different phases of the technological life cycle of the herbal medicine sector. We map the trajectory of the technological life cycle and correlate this with snapshots of patent cluster landscapes. Evidence of convergence of modern biotechnological methods with existing herbal medicine innovations was observed, which leads to the strengthening of patent clusters and penetration of herbal medicine into novel niches. The emergence of universities is also discussed as significant latecomers in patenting activities, which is evidence of a long incubation period for the commercialisation of university research in herbal medicine. We propose this methodology as a means to gauge the trajectory and anticipate revolutions in the technology life cycle of the herbal medicine industry, in order to study innovation patterns and facilitate convergence in the long run.