| Research Abstract |
In this project, I have studied the activities of technology transfer and venture capital regarding the foundation of biotech start-ups, for oversees academic survey during FY2001-2003. As survey regions, except domestic survey objects, U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Iceland, India and so on are included. For research objects, I selected basic research institutes, technology license office/. technology transfer office, biotech start-ups, venture capital, incubators, science parks, biotech consultants, and pharmaceutical firm research centers, both according to U.S. patent statistics on biotech characteristics as the high dependency on basic research and expanded development time so different from another major technologies and, according to feasible opportunity. Apart from the case of deCode in Iceland related to national project, biotech start-ups usually are founded in so called biotech clusters. One of the reasons for such tendency came from that majority o
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f them are spin-offs from universities or M&A between large pharmaceutical firms. As a mechanism that makes allow the red-ink biopharmaceutical start-ups to focus on R&D in long-term, the survival process including bio specialized venture capital, R&D partnerships with large pharmaceuticals firms, IPO, and self brand drug products, depending on platform technologies has been developed by pioneering biotech start-ups. However, even if they succeed in development of their own drugs, 'while there area handful of star firms as Amgen or Genentech that developed blockbuster drugs, majority of firms whose performance are not so big tend to be failed or to become the targets for M&A.
While in public market of U.S. and U.K., the robustness of high-risk and high-return business model as drug development rather than tool development has been observable during so called "genoinic bubble" period around 2000, additionally even at pre-public, private equity stage, there is a patient capital that supports the more than ten years of long term R&D oriented start-ups. It seems possible because both such venture capitalists being understandable specific technology and such governance mechanism to reduce risk as the boards of directors or the scientific advisory boards are more sophisticated than those of Japan s business society. Furthermore, some advanced foreign firms seem to value the license or investment and to try to make optimal decisions to cope with informational asymmetry on time at R&D process, by busing real option analysis.
Thus as next challenge, it is necessary to examine a feasibility of optimal decision making based on real option. Less
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