Innovation cycles and geographies of innovation: A study of healthcare innovation in Europe

Abstract

This paper examines place-specific factors affecting geographies of innovation, that is, the transfer of research from the laboratory to bedside in the healthcare sector in four European bioscience regions. These regions are Medical Delta (MD; Leiden, Rotterdam and Delft, Netherlands) Oxford and the Thames Valley (OTV; UK), Biocat (Catalonia, Spain) and Life Science Zurich (LSZ; Switzerland). Evidence is drawn from the European Union-funded Healthcare Technology and Innovation for Economic Success (HealthTIES) project (2010–2013). The analytical framework, the HealthTIES Innovation Cycle, is organised into resources (inputs), innovation system elements and outcomes. The paper shows that each region represents different positions within international value chains of innovation in the healthcare sector. They range from the highly research intensive but with relatively less in the way of commercial exploitation location (OTV) to the less research intensive but with more commercialisation (LSZ).