Consortium-Based Open Innovation: Exploring a Unique and Optimal Model for Regional Biotechnology Industry

Developing high-tech start-ups has been embedded into political efforts that require a large, long-term investment whereas the uncertainty of research and development and the business risks are high. In the biotechnology and healthcare field, the emergence of new modalities such as cell and gene therapy and nanomedicine need to be implemented complying multidimensional societal requirements that covers ethics, regulations and adoption by the citizens. Considering these issues, the present chapter aims to explore a unique and optimal innovation model for regional biotech industry in Japan—the research and development consortium from the viewpoints of the theories of organisation on inter-firm collaboration, regional innovation system and intellectual property management. Next, cases of entrepreneurial and innovative activities around drug discovery firms in Japan to date are provided, focusing on the fields of advanced science and technology and the way to develop entrepreneurs and start-up firms from the perspective of sectorial and regional innovation systems. In the third section, in order to specifically examine the challenges and measures for developing drug discovery firms in Japan, a case of newly developed biotech cluster is examined. Conclusively, a view on the direction for boosting biotech innovation suitable to the environment is proposed, with particular foci on two non-technological elements—the design of implementation ecosystem with an R&D consortium and entrepreneurs, and the significance of socioeconomic forms of organisation in order to develop technologies properly with high ethical, regulatory and scientific linkages.