This research group is interested in understanding how medical innovation is achieved. We adopt an evolutionary perspective on the dynamics of science and technology, and investigate the development of technologies both over time and across networks of actors and institutions. We employ a broad range of research methods including interviews, network analysis, scientometrics and econometrics. The team’s background is highly interdisciplinary, and includes expertise in medicine, physics, engineering, economics and sociology. Our portfolio of activities spans writing of resarch articles and books, involvement in publicly funded research projects, and interaction with policy makers, medical practitioners and business firms.

Events

• Workshop: Redefining knowledge interfaces in health care. 21 Febrero 2014.

Illustrative research topics

• Evolution of medical know-how (Consoli and Mina, 2009; Consoli and Ramlogan, 2012),
• Medical devices (Barberá-Tomás et al., 2011; Barberá-Tomás and Consoli, 2012)
• Nano- and biotechnologies: collaboration and interdisciplinarity in (Rafols, 2007; Leydesdorff and Rafols, 2011)
• Pharmaceutical firms: dynamics of the knowledge base (D’Este, 2002, 2005; Rafols et al., 2012).
• Rare diseases: collaborative networks (Amat, 2011) and research practices.
• Translational research: barriers and enablers (Llopis and D’Este, in preparation)

Ongoing projects

• Mapping and assessment of research portfolios (2013 to 2017). Ismael Rafols, European Commission (~100 000€).

• Translational research in rare diseases (2011 to 2014). David Barberá, África Villanueva and Richard Woolley, European Commission, (~140 000€).

• Knowledge production in biomedicine: influence of actors and collaboration networks (2012 to 2015). Ignacio Fernández de Lucio, Pablo d’Este and Carlos B. Amat, Generalitat Valenciana (~270 000€).

• Mapping the Dynamics of Emerging Technologies (2011 to 2013). Ismael Rafols in collaboration with SPRU (Univ. Sussex) and IFRIS (Philippe Larédo) (~1M€).

• Do scientific research networks contribute to the generation of technological discoveries? An analysis of scientific networks in biomedical research (2012 to 2014), Pablo d’Este and Óscar Llopis. Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (16 000€).

• Revealing Innovation Pathways of Biomedical Research (2011-2014). Ismael Rafols in collaboration with SPRU (Univ. Sussex) and Georgia Tech (Alan Porter). (US$380 000).

• Bibliometric analysis of the Spanish Research Networks on Orphan Diseases (CIBERER). (Annual reports, ongoing since 2008) Carlos B. Amat and François Perruchas. (20 000€/year).

Selected references

Amat, C.B., 2011. Bibliometría de CIBERER 2010. Volumen, temática, colaboración e impacto de sus publicaciones científicas.

Barberá-Tomás, D., Consoli, D., 2012. Whatever works: Uncertainty and technological hybrids in medical innovation. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 79, 932–948.

Barberá-Tomás, D., Jiménez-Sáez, F., Castelló-Molina, I., 2011. Mapping the importance of the real world: The validity of connectivity analysis of patent citations networks. Research Policy 40, 473–486.

Consoli, D., Mina, A., 2009. An evolutionary perspective on health innovation systems. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 19, 297–319.

Consoli, D., Ramlogan, R., 2012. Patterns of Organization in the deveopment of medical know-how. Industrial and Corporate Change 21(2), 315-343.

D’Este, P., 2002. The distinctive patterns of capabilities accumulation and inter-firm heterogeneity: the case of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry. Industrial and Corporate Change 11, 847–874.

D’Este, P., 2005. How do firms’ knowledge bases affect intra-industry heterogeneity?: An analysis of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry. Research Policy 34, 33–45.

Leydesdorff, L., Rafols, I., 2011. The Local Emergence and Global Diffusion of Research Technologies: An Exploration of Patterns of Network Formation. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology Forthcoming. http://arxiv.org/pdf/1011.3120.

Rafols, I., 2007. Strategies for knowledge acquisition in bionanotechnology - Why are interdisciplinary practices less widespread than expected? Innovation-the European Journal of Social Science Research 20, 395–412.

Rafols, I., Hopkins, M.M., Hoekman, J., Siepel, J., O’Hare, A., Perianes-Rodríguez, A., Nightingale, P., 2012. Big Pharma, Little Science? A bibliometric perspective on big pharma’s R&D decline. Technological Forecasting & Social Change In press.

Consoli, D., Mina, A., Nelson, R.R. and Ramlogan, R. (Eds) (2015) Medical Innovation: Science, Technology and Practice. Routledge.