Written by internationally acclaimed experts in the economics of innovation, it explores from different angles the historical evolution of innovation in the biotech and pharmaceutical sector, and how firms and industry structure have co-evolved with innovation dynamics. Important policy questions are considered regarding the future of innovation in this sector.

Figures; Tables; Contributors; 1. Introduction: innovation, growth and industry evolution Giovanni Dosi and Mariana Mazzucato; Part I. Innovation and Industry Evolution: 2. Pharmaceutical innovation as a process of creative destruction Frank Lichtenberg; 3. The evolution of pharmaceutical innovation Paul Nightingale and Surya Mahdi; 4. Firm and regional determinants in innovation models: evidence from biotechnology and traditional chemicals Myriam Mariani; 5. Comments on Part I Lou Galambos; Part II. Firm Growth and Market Structure: 6. Growth and diversification patterns of the worldwide pharmaceutical industry Giulio Bottazzi, Fabio Paolli and Angelo Secchi; 7. Heterogeneity in the firms' growth process: the case of the pharmaceutical industry Elena Cefis, Matteo Ciccarelli and Luigi Orsenigo; 8. Entry, market structure and innovation in a history-friendly model of the evolution of the pharmaceutical industry Christian Garavaglia, Franco Malerba and Luigi Orsenigo; 9. Comments on Part II Boyan Jovanovic; Part III. Policy Implications: 10. Effects of research tool patents and licensing on biomedical innovation John P. Walsh, Ashish Arora and Wesley Cohen; 11. Upstream patents and public health: the case for generic testing of breast cancer Fabienne Orsi, Christine Sevilla and Benjamin Coriat; 12. Competition, regulation and intellectual property management in GM foods: preliminary evidence from survey data Pierre Regibeau and Katherine Rockett; 13. Governance, policy and industry strategies: agro-biotechnology and pharmaceuticals Joanna Chataway, Joyce Tait and David Wield; 14. The dynamics of knowledge accumulation, regulation, and appropriability in the pharma-biotech sector: policy issues Luigi Orsenigo, Giovanni Dosi and Mariana Mazzucato.