Building Successful Bioscience Clusters: Lessons from Around the World
On February 11th, nearly 60 people attended this symposium, jointly sponsored by all three of New Jersey’s WIRED regions and the Rutgers Innovation Studies Initiative.
Andrew Munk, Director of International Relations at Medicon Valley Alliance shared insights from Medicon Valley, one of Europe’s top bioscience hot spots, Rutgers Business School Professor Michelle Gittelman discussed the role of place in partnerships between bioscience companies and universities, and David Finegold, Dean of Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations discussed the development of high-skill ecosystems and the WIRED Bio-1 initiative in Central NJ.
Dr. Munk gave an in-depth look into Medicon Valley Alliance (MVA) and the range of organizations they partner with, including universities, pharmaceutical companies, research centers, incubators (with 150 companies within them), science parks (with 100 R & D companies within them), among others, and the huge number of students, research groups and scientists they comprise.
He outlined two stages of cluster development, which include leveraging the infrastructure of triple helix collaboration (academia, industry and public health care) and then globalizing cluster to cluster with programs such as the MVA ambassador program. He also shared MVA’s insight into the key components for successful bio clusters, and the role of the cluster organization as a driver, idea maker, neutral platform, organizer and project leader. The benefits of the cluster are clear for this very small region – in addition to building the regional brand, Medicon Valley’s biotech pipeline (not including pharma) is 160 products, which is more products than all of France. Building clusters is not without challenges, but according to Dr. Munk, in working through them it is important to get a common understanding of the needs, facilitate contacts, engage all the players and drive the project management.
Michelle Gittelman, Assistant Professor in the Management and Global Business Department at Rutgers Business School discussed research findings that proximity really matters when turning scientific ideas into marketable technologies. Dr. Gittelman explained that when the distance between research partners is within 50 miles, they produce more patents, while more dispersed globally focused teams can have more of an impact on scientific findings. She stressed that the bio-regions need to be visible on the global map of scientific research for access to the wider scientific communities.
David Finegold, Dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers described the biotech landscape in New Jersey and explained that WIRED Bio-1 is the US Government’s version of triple helix. Dr. Finegold discussed four major components required for successful clusters that are the foundations of WIRED Bio-1: a catalyst, nourishment, a supportive environment and strong connectivity.
Following the presentations, there was an enthusiastic open panel discussion with a wide range of Q & A.
To view copies of all of the symposium presentations, click here:
An article on the Innovation Center can be found in the latest issue of Rutgers’ Focus:
