Characterization of the Cuban biopharmaceutical industry from collaborative networks

Studies of scientific collaboration have introduced the concepts of collaborative networks. These networks may represent the social structure of a community of researchers or knowledge transmission in a specific country or economic sector. Cuban biopharmaceutical industry is an exceptional case study. This high-tech sector has achieved important development in the context of a “Third World” country, with a different political organization from the rest of the world. The main goal of this work is to characterize the Cuban biotechnology industry using collaborative networks. WoS database (1969–2016) was used and metric indicators of scientific collaboration obtained from the affiliation field. Netlike visualizations were produced with NodeXL software. BioCubaFarma meets about 50% of the total scientific production of all Cuban sectors. Since its foundation, the sector has maintained significant internal and external collaboration, with Europe, Latin America and the United States of America. The United States collaboration has been significant in the absence of diplomatic relations with that country. Collaboration is greater among centers of the old “scientific pole” than among old companies of the pharmaceutical sector. Moreover, there is a correlation between the magnitude of the scientific production and the collaboration levels. For the development of biomedicine in Cuba, collaboration has not been solely endogenous but has also represented a significant transfer of knowledge between Cuba and other countries.