Spaces of innovation and venture formation: the case of biotech in the United Kingdom

TL;DR

This paper uses patent data to analyze the geographic and institutional factors influencing biotech innovation and venture formation in the UK, highlighting the roles of incubators and regional dynamics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how biotech incubators and geographic proximity affect innovation diversity and venture development in the UK biotech sector.

Findings

Biotech incubators facilitate knowledge exchange but do not significantly increase innovation diversity.

Key regions drive biotech innovation in the UK.

Geographic proximity influences the impact of patents on innovation.

Abstract

Patents serve as valuable indicators of innovation and provide insights into the spaces of innovation and venture formation within geographic regions. In this study, we utilise patent data to examine the dynamics of innovation and venture formation in the biotech sector across the United Kingdom (UK). By analysing patents, we identify key regions that drive biotech innovation in the UK. Our findings highlight the crucial role of biotech incubators in facilitating knowledge exchange between scientific research and industry. However, we observe that the incubators themselves do not significantly contribute to the diversity of innovations which might be due to the underlying effect of geographic proximity on the influences and impact of the patents. These insights contribute to our understanding of the historical development and future prospects of the biotech sector in the UK, emphasising the importance of promoting innovation diversity and fostering inclusive enterprise for achieving equitable economic growth.