The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Revolution in Molecular Biology: Interactions Among Scientific, Institutional, and Organizational Change
The last 25 years have seen a revolution in the biological sciences that has had several dramatic effects on the global pharmaceutical industry. These effects raise a number of fascinating questions about patterns of industrial evolution and about the interaction of scientific, organizational, and institutional changes. Although a cursory analysis might suggest that the revolution in molecular biology can be interpreted simply as a classic "Schumpeterian" event, in which the early days of the industry were characterized by high rates of entry and incumbents were gradually supplanted by a new breed of innovators, it has several features that make it quite distinctive from the "traditional" model.