Adapting science, building capabilities: The emergence of healthcare biotechnology in India

In my dissertation, I examine the emergence of the healthcare biotechnology industry in the cities of Bangalore and Hyderabad. A regional innovation systems approach in the context of integration in global value chains is used to analyze the foundations of a domestic healthcare sector in Indian biotechnology and the ability of India's industry to develop niches in global biotechnology through partnerships with overseas firms. Primary data for this study were gathered over the course of two years in India's leading biotechnology clusters located in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Interviews were conducted with founders of biotechnology companies, research scientists at local universities, industry association representatives, and state officials in India.; I explain the development of biotechnology clusters as a combination of regional factors including the growth of entrepreneurial firms, regional policy towards science-led industries, and the ability to create local technical communities in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The institutional context for the emergence of biotechnology firms is combined with the formation of global-local links in high technology industry in order to understand trajectories towards innovation. Indian firms are shown to adopt two strategies to participate in global industry developments. First, as indigenous manufacturers of vaccines and diagnostics, Indian firms have entered into global networks of supply and research for neglected areas of healthcare. Second, Indian firms combine local strengths in a highly skilled workforce and domestic entrepreneurship to build partnerships with global clients in drug discovery research. My research finds that India's success in upgrading knowledge-intensive industries will depend on the existence of local conditions that favor innovation including the ability to promote entrepreneurship, create a university-interface for technology transfer, and change national and regional innovation systems. In turn, these conditions allow Indian firms to participate in higher-value added segments of biotechnology either as partners with overseas clients or as indigenous manufacturers of biotechnology products.