Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This thesis investigates and describes the process through which a radical invention is turned into a commercial product and explores how this process unfolds in industrial biotechnology. A new indicator of technology development is introduced to trace the creation and reuse of novel technologies. Four case studies are used to explore how biotech radical invention reaches the commercialization phase, and as a first attempt to validate the new indicator. Three stages are defined in the process: research, development and commercialization. Various types of companies are linked to the different phases: small and large firms, and universities. It will become clear that universities act as suppliers of knowledge in the research phase. Small firms are more successful in the development phase as they are flexible and innovative. Finally, large companies have an advantage in the commercialization phase as they have broader financial capabilities. Further, the potential of the new indicator to identify technology trajectories is evaluated analyzing technological characteristics of the novel and reusing patents. The cases seem to show the indicator performs weakly and suggest some directions for refinement.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The development process of a useable and permitted new drug can be divided into three distinct stages: discovery, development and commercialisation. First, active compounds are detected in the discovery phase. They are then further researched and updated during the development phase. Eventually drugs are fully prepared to enter the drug market in the commercialization phase. Following this drug development process different actors can play a distinct role, exposing a division of labour within the product development process of the (bio)pharmaceutical industry. Originally universities and research centres were believed to be responsible for the bulk of the discovery part. Thereafter large companies were thought to take over the further development of the drug and bring it to the market. In this master’s thesis an analysis of the drug development process and the roles that different actors play throughout this process was performed, using patent data and their link to approved drug products. To reflect technological novelty, patents that use a new combination of IPC classes (maker) and patents that reuse this combination (re-user) are followed. Three innovative oncology drugs (Mylotarg, Folotyn and Abraxane) were selected and analysed to verify whether they follow the proposed ‘fixed pattern’ for drug development within the (bio)pharmaceutical industry. According to our analysis it can be concluded that the ‘fixed’ pattern is representative for the greater part, but deviations are not uncommon.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

As innovation is an important driver of economic growth, a lot of research is conducted on this subject to get a better understanding of the origins of novel knowledge and how this novelty continues to develop until commercial success is achieved. One strand of previous research developed an indicator which flags a patent as novel when it is the first to combine two specific IPC classification codes. Patents that reuse this combination are called followers, and hence trajectories of improving knowledge are formed. The research conducted within the scope of this thesis forms a validation exercise for concepts developed at the faculty. First, a summary about novelty, patent indicators and technology trajectories is provided. Next, the performance of the indicator is assessed by conducting three individual case studies on trajectories in the domain of biotechnology. Suggestions for improvement of the indicator are mentioned per case, followed by more general suggestions which seem to be useful across multiple cases. We provide some interesting potential improvements which merit further research.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Innovation is present in our everyday life and is one of the most important components of long-term economic growth for companies worldwide, including companies in the cosmetic industry. The cosmetic industry is science-driven, fast-paced and a highly innovative sector where novel technologies open up future research possibilities and paths for other industries. This thesis contributes to the understanding of developing trajectories of novel invention in the cosmetic industry and gives understanding of the application of the methodology to detect these trajectories. We investigate whether the use of co-occurrence of technology classes for the first time in a patent is a good measure to detect novel innovations that open up technology trajectories for future researchers. We assess this measure through four case studies based on novel patents and their followers. The results in this thesis will eventually show that the used measure leads to novel technologies that are important for further research and are building blocks for researchers around the world.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The bias, efficiency, and accuracy of the growth domestic product forecast made by the International Monetary Fund from 1992-2015 for the Latin-American region are analyzed in this thesis. The quality of the growth forecasts are of great importance, as predictions of GDP give a view on future economic activity and conditions, and it is therefore necessary to be estimated correctly. The analysis suggests differences in performance and contradicting results across time-periods on the region-level: optimism in the period 1992-2003 and pessimism during 2004-2015. The results show that 67% of the selected individual country’s forecasts fail the efficiency tests, and can be improved. The accuracy analysis indicates that the IMF forecast is superior to the Naïve forecast. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that, apart from Argentina, the forecasting accuracy has improved over time. The country-by-country results of Argentina fit previous accusations of the IMF growth forecasting being politically biased