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Week of June 23 - 29, 2008 |
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Emerging R&D Centers in China and India
New research sponsored by the Kauffman
Foundation depicts the rise of China and India as emerging powers in
pharmaceuticals research and development. The study is the first in a
series of reports examining the implications of the rapid globalization
of innovation. It is based on interviews with leading Chinese and Indian
executives who note that R&D globalization is occurring much faster than
many people realize. Leading Big Pharma firms, like Merck and Eli Lilly,
now have a heavy reliance on Indian and Chinese partners for high value
R&D. The researchers conclude that it is too early to determine whether
India and China will become major sources of new drugs. Local firms lack
capital and distribution channels and are thus heavily reliant on
partnerships with existing global market leaders. However, both
countries are making impressive strides in pharmaceutical R&D and will
likely be major industry players in the future. |
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National Innovation Foundation Bill Introduced
Earlier this year, researchers from the
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Brookings
Institution proposed the creation of a new National Innovation
Foundation. Their concepts have now made their way into legislation
thanks to Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).
Their bill, |
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Last week’s big
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in San Diego was also the site
of the release of several new reports looking at biotech and other
technology-related industries. Along with Battelle and SSTI, BIO
released its latest annual review of state bioscience initiatives.
Overall, the study finds that the biotechnology sector continues to be
an important asset for state economies. The industry employed 1.3
million people in 2006. These jobs are quality jobs—paying an average of
$71,000 per year (about $29,000 more than the national average)—and have
led many states to create targeted biotechnology programs to nurture the
industry. Nearly half of all states devote funds to biotechnology
research and a similar number have funded assessments of the industry’s
workforce needs. Even more (39) are providing some form of tax credits,
ranging from R&D tax credits to allowances to carry forward Net
Operating Losses. The report includes a useful compendium of key biotech
statistics for all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico. |
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Milken State Science and Technology Index
The BIO conference was also a site for the
release of the latest Milken Institute State Science and Technology
Index. Last completed in 2004, the Milken index ranks states on five
broad categories of performance: R&D inputs, Risk Capital and
Entrepreneurial Infrastructure, Human Capital Investment, Technology and
and Science Workforce, and Technology Concentration and Dynamism. Based
on these categories, Massachusetts ranks as the top US state in terms of
technology development and infrastructure, retaining its “title” from
the 2004 Index. Others in the top ten include (in rank order): Maryland,
Colorado, California, Washington, Virginia, Connecticut, Utah, New
Hampshire, and Rhode Island. When considering trends since the last
report in 2004, the report’s authors cite the growing state and global
competition for technology industries. States that improved their
performance on the 2008 index had made a major commitment of resources
to developing human capital and investing in science and technology
assets. North Dakota is something of a “poster child” for this approach
as its ranking jumped fourteen places thank in part to big investments
in a statewide Centers of Excellence program initiated in 2004. |
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NFIB Young Entrepreneurs of the Year
The National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB) Young Entrepreneur Foundation has recently announced the
winners of its 2008 Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards. This year’s
winner is Peter Crabtree of Kingston, WA. His firm, CBC Chocolates, was
started when he was 15 and hoping to help pay for his college education.
His prize of a $10,000 scholarship will also help on that front.
Runners-up include Jim Cerenzie (Spanish Fork, UT), John Kirkpatrick
(Beckley, WV), Eric Knudson (Boyds, MD), and Jacob Lindemann (Manitowoc,
WI). |
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Strengthening America’s Metropolitan Areas
For the past year, the Brookings Institution
has been publishing a series of reports on the issues facing America’s
metropolitan areas. Earlier this month, it sponsored The Summit for
American Prosperity, an event to formally launch the policy phase of
The Blueprint for American Prosperity. This latter initiative is
designed to provide policy guidance to Federal policymakers with the
goal of reinvigorating Federal programs designed to assist metro areas.
The Summit included presentations from leading thinkers and policy
makers such as Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Seattle Mayor Greg
Nickels, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. As part of this event, a
series of publications were released. These include proposals for a new
Federal-metro partnership, a plan to reduce metro area carbon emissions,
and new strategies for rethinking US transportation policies. |
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The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the Public Forum Institute made possible by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. Through NDE-news, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving entrepreneurship around the world. Subscribe now to receive your weekly copy. Archived issues are available online. |
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stories © 2008 The Public Forum Institute
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