[Biotechnology research and generation of patents of interest to the health system].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The biotechnology industry has developed substantially in the last few years, with a major impact in several economic sectors. The flow of knowledge from the public research system to the industrial sector is highly complex, an important indicator being the number and content of patents. The objective of this study was to analyze the dynamics of knowledge transfer in biotechnology from the Spanish R+D system to create new technologies and their impact on the health sector.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The patents included in the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) database from 2000 to 2007 were analyzed according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) biotechnological patent classification adapted to the patent classification of the USPTO for Biotechnology. Only patents with Spanish inventors or assignees were included.

RESULTS

A total of 497 biotechnological patents with Spanish inventors were identified. This number is still low compared with that produced by other European countries with more highly developed knowledge-based industries. Only 230 patents were assigned to Spanish institutions, indicating that more than half of the analyzed patents with Spanish inventors (54%) were assigned to other countries.

CONCLUSIONS

Patent generation in biotechnology is low in Spain compared with that in other countries with similar scientific and economic capacity, indicating a failure to absorb the new technologies generated by the public research system. The low generation of patents by Spanish scientists also indicates a lack of incentives for patent activity.