Ancient v. Modern in Innovations in Biomedicine: Techno-national Science & Technology Policies in China, India and Japan

• In Event: Human Health and Biomedicine in Asia: Community-Based Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The capacity of economies to innovate in high technology sectors including biomedicine is driven in part by government policy such as investments in research and development (R&D). Millennia-old traditions including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ayurveda in India and derivations of the same in Japan are not very profitable on a mass-market scale and thus have been neglected under a new techno-nationalist vision. Techno-nationalism is the idea that the national security of a state rests on its ability to build and maintain innovation capacity in key technologies, often referred to as “strategic sectors”.

Within a techno-national system, the goal is to develop a national innovation system that has competitive advantage in frontier technologies. In biomedicine, this has meant investment into R&D for products having the most global market potential, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Given the significant contributions of new firms to innovation and new product development, countries have also sought to establish an entrepreneurial ecosystem – a set of institutions and practices supporting new business creation, such as angel investment, venture capital and attitudes supporting risk-taking.

This paper explores this ancient v. modern dialectic through an analysis of science and technology (S&T) policy in China, India and Japan targeting biomedicine, particularly since the 1990s. Comparison of macro-level data over time on intellectual property, new firm formation by sector, export revenue and other growth trends seeks to identify patterns that might be explained by state policy interventions and/or other factors. Macro-level analysis is supplemented with region and firm-level case study.

It examines trade offs between gains in global market share and the potential loss of ancient teachings and expertise in the healing arts. The paper concludes with implications of techno-nationalist style innovation policy for other Asian countries.

This paper is drawn from a book manuscript on techno-nationalism, innovation and entrepreneurship in Asia.

Author

• Kathryn Ibata-Arens, DePaul University