Essays on Innovation in the Life Sciences

The productivity of research and development (R&D) has consistently received attention from both policymakers and firms alike. This holds especially true in the pharmaceutical industry, where projects have traditionally low success rates. Yet, not all discontinued pharmaceutical projects are scientific failures – some projects are halted even with positive clinical results. Despite the consequences for firms and social welfare, the distinction between scientific failures and so-called shelved innovation is not routinely applied empirically.

With a newly constructed dataset linking clinical trials to publications and through natural language processing, I am able to distinguish between scientific failures and shelved innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. In the first two essays of the dissertation, I aim to explore how shelving fits into firm strategy: what are the reasons for shelving and how do firms utilize shelved projects?

New research tools such as CRISPR-Cas have been hailed as a future driver of productivity in the life sciences. In a third essay, I aim to explore barriers to translating research with CRISPR-Cas into commercialization. Inherent in its newness is the uncertainty of how to regulate the technology and whether to do so at all. The variation of regulation between jurisdictions raises questions regarding product development and the competitiveness of firms. I intend to address these issues in the context of CRISPR-Cas in plant breeding, adding to the evidence on the influence of external factors on R&D productivity.