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Great expectations: The
state of biotechnology research and development in South
Africa
Michael Gastrow
Centre for
Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, Human
Sciences Research Council, Private Bag X9182, Cape Town
8000, South Africa. E-mail:
mgastrow@hsrc.ac.za.
Accepted
21 January, 2008 |
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As biotechnology industries are knowledge-intensive, Research
and Experimental Development (R and D) are key drivers of
growth. Governments and businesses have an interest in
creating an environment that stimulates R and D and the
commercialisation thereof. Discourse relating to the best
means to support biotechnology R and D is extensive.
However, there has to date a paucity of quantitative data
describing biotechnology R and D in South Africa. This paper
therefore offers a brief quantitative profile of South
Africa’s biotechnology R and D. These findings provide key
indicators of scale, scope, ownership, sectorial division,
geographical distribution and collaborative structure.
Bibliometric and patent data are used, as well as data
sourced from the National Survey of Research and
Experimental Development Inputs. It is found that South
Africa’s biotechnology R and D investment is small by
international standards, but a leader in the African
context. There are moreover certain collaborative networks,
geographical clusters, and industry applications that
demonstrate a high concentration of R and D, which may
indicate a path towards achieving critical mass in these
areas. Finally, the 2005/6 data used here may be used as
baseline data to monitor and evaluate the national 2008
National Biotechnology strategy.
Key
words:
Biotechnology, research, development. |
