ABSTRACT
The developments take place rapidly and are far-reaching for the respective market sector, regulations and underlying values. (More about this in section 4.3 ) This knowledge-driven innovation process is taking place worldwide and is too comprehensive to define in the context of this study. We will confine ourselves first to its application on drugs. Furthermore, we will focus on the driving force behind this process: the rise of a new knowledge and capital infrastructure on a regional level. For this purpose, we have spoken with a number of key actors in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, a major biotech hub in the Unites States. The emergence of such regional infrastructures is a system innovation in itself. A large concentration of companies, knowledge institutes and venture capitalists has sprung up in a short period. Where relevant, we will also discuss the phenomenon on the federal level. In addition to Boston, other hubs like Stanford and San Diego have seen similar processes. ]
Before discussing this regional level, we will give a brief introduction on modem biotechnology and its consequences for the pharmaceutical industry in the United States.
