Despite the considerable amount of research on human health, relatively few publications develop into clinical trials and few clinical trials have an impact firm performance. In our research, we hope to fill the knowledge gap about the relationships among publications, clinical trials and firm performance. We will conduct a systematic literature review to justify the existing research gaps in the literature and propose a conceptual model of those relationships. Then we will collect data on firms’ publications, clinical trials and performance to verify the model. For feasibility, we will focus on the case of cancer nanocarrier drugs, one of the most promising techniques for the cure of cancer. We will also explore the moderating role of social capital on the publication-clinical trial relationship and on the clinical trial-firm performance link. We understand as social capital the capacity of the firm to establish connections with other agents in the health research system. This research highlights the importance of bridge the gap between basic research and industrial application in the medical field.