IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jtecht/v46y2021i5d10.1007_s10961-019-09743-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Microgravity protein crystallization for drug development: a bold example of public sector entrepreneurship

Author

Listed:
  • Troy J. Scott

    (RTI International)

  • Nicholas S. Vonortas

    (The George Washington University
    University of Campinas
    National Research University Higher School of Economics)

Abstract

A basic mission of NASA is to use the United States’ segment of the International Space Station (ISS), designated a national laboratory, to facilitate the growth of a commercial marketplace in low Earth orbit for scientific research, technology development, observation and communications. Protein crystallization research has long been promoted as a promising commercial application of the ISS for drug development. In this paper we examine the case for microgravity protein crystallization under different private and public investment scenarios. The analysis suggests that sustaining investment is unlikely to come from individual companies alone. Public and private investment must be combined and managed to overcome a number of challenges including the need to integrate microgravity crystallization into the complex system of technologies involved in structure-based drug design. Multiple risks related to transportation costs/frequency, risk for cargo and research crew, and uncertainty about the longevity of the ISS complicate the calculus.

Suggested Citation

  • Troy J. Scott & Nicholas S. Vonortas, 2021. "Microgravity protein crystallization for drug development: a bold example of public sector entrepreneurship," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 1442-1461, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:46:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10961-019-09743-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-019-09743-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10961-019-09743-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10961-019-09743-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. DiMasi, Joseph A. & Grabowski, Henry G. & Hansen, Ronald W., 2016. "Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry: New estimates of R&D costs," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 20-33.
    2. Link, Albert N. & Scott, John T., 2011. "Public Goods, Public Gains: Calculating the Social Benefits of Public R&D," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199729685.
    3. Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2019. "The economic benefits of technology transfer from U.S. federal laboratories," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 1416-1426, October.
    4. Aled Edwards, 2016. "Reproducibility: Team up with industry," Nature, Nature, vol. 531(7594), pages 299-301, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alan C. O'Connor & Albert N. Link & Brandon M. Downs & Laura M. Hillier, 2015. "The impact of public investment in medical imaging technology: an interagency collaboration in evaluation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(5), pages 510-531, July.
    2. Dosis, Anastasios & Muthoo, Abhinay, 2019. "Experimentation in Dynamic R&D Competition," CRETA Online Discussion Paper Series 52, Centre for Research in Economic Theory and its Applications CRETA.
    3. Branstetter, Lee & Chatterjee, Chirantan & Higgins, Matthew J., 2022. "Generic competition and the incentives for early-stage pharmaceutical innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    4. Stuart D. Allen & Stephen K. Layson & Albert N. Link, 2013. "Public gains from entrepreneurial research: Inferences about the economic value of public support of the Small Business Innovation Research program," Chapters, in: Public Support of Innovation in Entrepreneurial Firms, chapter 6, pages 105-112, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Alfred B. Ordman, 2022. "When Will the FDA Do What Is in People’s Best Interests?," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 81(4), pages 721-751, September.
    6. Edouard Debonneuil & Anne Eyraud-Loisel & Frédéric Planchet, 2018. "Can Pension Funds Partially Manage Longevity Risk by Investing in a Longevity Megafund?," Risks, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-27, July.
    7. Yin, Nina, 2023. "Pharmaceuticals, incremental innovation and market exclusivity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Rathi, Sawan & Majumdar, Adrija & Chatterjee, Chirantan, 2024. "Did the COVID-19 pandemic propel usage of AI in pharmaceutical innovation? New evidence from patenting data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    9. Link, Albert, 2022. "An Assessment and Evaluation of the U.S. Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program," UNCG Economics Working Papers 22-8, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics.
    10. Albert N. Link & John T. Scott, 2012. "On the social value of quality: An economic evaluation of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 39(5), pages 680-689, July.
    11. Heyoung Yang & Hyuck Jai Lee, 2018. "Long-Term Collaboration Network Based on ClinicalTrials.gov Database in the Pharmaceutical Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-14, January.
    12. Link, Albert & Scott, John, 2017. "Toward an Assessment of the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program at the National Institutes of Health," UNCG Economics Working Papers 17-6, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics.
    13. Stacy Sneeringer & Matt Clancy, 2020. "Incentivizing New Veterinary Pharmaceutical Products to Combat Antibiotic Resistance," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(4), pages 653-673, December.
    14. Gemma Turon & Jason Hlozek & John G. Woodland & Ankur Kumar & Kelly Chibale & Miquel Duran-Frigola, 2023. "First fully-automated AI/ML virtual screening cascade implemented at a drug discovery centre in Africa," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Link, Albert N. & van Hasselt, Martijn, 2019. "On the transfer of technology from universities: The impact of the Bayh–Dole Act of 1980 on the institutionalization of university research," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 472-481.
    16. Adrian Towse;Jimena Ferraro;Jorge Mestre-Ferrandiz, 2017. "Incentives for New Drugs to Tackle Anti-Microbial Resistance," Briefing 001842, Office of Health Economics.
    17. Steffen Nauhaus & Johannes Luger & Sebastian Raisch, 2021. "Strategic Decision Making in the Digital Age: Expert Sentiment and Corporate Capital Allocation," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(7), pages 1933-1961, November.
    18. Aysun, Uluc, 2024. "Technology diffusion and international business cycles," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    19. Gold, E. Richard, 2021. "The fall of the innovation empire and its possible rise through open science," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(5).
    20. Alba C. Rojas-Cordova & Niyousha Hosseinichimeh, 2018. "Trial Termination and Drug Misclassification in Sequential Adaptive Clinical Trials," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(3), pages 354-377, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Federal laboratory; Research; Public–private partnership; Space commercialization; Protein crystallization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:46:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1007_s10961-019-09743-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.