ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the professional work of clinical trial researchers in the pharmaceutical industry. It presents the knowledge-sharing practices of professional clinical trial workers. It discusses the concepts of the bioeconomy and biocapital, locating pharmaceutical companies in the socioeconomic and technological context of contemporary, late modern society. The chapter then presents a study of decision-making procedures in new drug development activities in a major multinational pharmaceutical company. New drug development work is one of the innovation processes most controlled in detail and therefore there is little space for emergent properties and changes in plans when struggling to meet objectives and standards. The study of the work of professional workers in clinical trial research teams in PharmaCo suggests that decision-making under uncertainty and under pressure to perform financially is not a simple process devoid of non-linear elements and disruptive events. The chapter explores some issues regarding knowledge sharing in professional communities.
