Technological opportunities discovery within the scope of existing biotechnology capabilities in Brazil

• Grant number: 18/20233-3
• Support type: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• Duration: May 01, 2020 - April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Cristiano Gonçalves Pereira
• Grantee: Cristiano Gonçalves Pereira
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto (FEARP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Assoc. researchers: Fernando de Queiroz Cunha ; Geciane Silveira Porto ; Virginia Picanço e Castro

Abstract

In Brazil, strategies aimed to improving internal capabilities promote positive effects on innovation indicators. As resources for research funding are increasingly limited, a research approach focused at discovery of technological opportunities that modifies and reuses existing capabilities to generate new technologies can greatly improve R&D&I applicability and performance, while at the same time reduce the level of investment risk. Thus, the main objective of this project is to use patent data to discover technological opportunities in biotechnology for Brazil, which are within the scope of existing competencies in the country in this sector. To this end, a methodology is proposed that will map Brazilian technological competencies through IPC (International Patent Classification) co-classification patterns in Brazil's biotechnology patents, which will guide the identification of opportunities based on the world patent scenario, within the portfolio of these core competencies. Opportunities will be identified using technological forecasting tools and use of social network analysis (SNA) and patent data mining. A recent study, published in the prestigious journal Nature Biotechnology (JCR 41) by the members of this research project (Pereira et al., 2018), showed that the use of patent data mining associated with social network analysis can bring significant insights on the technological landscape in biotechnology, allowing the identification of promising technological routes, emerging technological areas and the profile of technological cooperation indicating the influence of patent holders. In this project, we intend to apply the concepts of this research to the identification of opportunities, through the analysis of technological routes, identification of potential partners, search for opportunities for tech transfer and licensing of technologies, identification of emerging technological areas and opportunities for investments that are free for commercialization. The validation of this methodological approach will be carried out by means of a pilot test using expert's opinion that will evaluate the consistency and adequacy of the results. Once the methodology has been validated, data collection, aggregation and integration will be carried out, which will serve to feed the development of a web platform of "search for technological opportunities from skills" that will be available for users online. In this way the present research project has an interdisciplinary character by associating concepts of business and management of innovation, data science, biotechnology, and information systems. As a result, four main achievements are expected: scientific production of high quality on the proposed theme; development of a web platform to research technological competencies and opportunities through the search of inputs (patents or IPCs); creation of a new research group in the FEA-RP of Competitive Intelligence and development of qualified human resources in the areas of technological forecasting and patent analysis. It is hoped that the results of this research will help science and technology instituition (STI) and Brazilian companies in the technological planning process to identify new technological opportunities more closely associated with their set of competencies, allowing the diversification of results from the R&D&I structure and intensifying the possibility of success with existing resources. Nevertheless, it is expected that the results of this research will be able to stimulate more effective public policies to guide investment in promising projects that optimize existing R&D resources, or to mobilize researchers both within the STI itself or the productive sector to focus on technological opportunities. (AU)