Absorptive Capacity, Coauthoring Behavior, and the
Organization of
Research in Drug Discovery
Iain Cockburn and Rebecca Henderson
Abstract
We examine the interface between for-profit and publicly funded
research in pharmaceuticals. Firms access upstream basic research
through investments in absorptive capacity in the form of in-house
basic research and "pro-publication" internal incentives. Some
firms also maintain extensive connections to the wider scientific
community, which we measure using data on coauthorship of
scientific papers between pharmaceutical company scientists and
publicly funded researchers. "Connectedness" is significantly
correlated with firms' internal organization, as well as their
performance in drug discovery. The estimated impact of
"connectedness" on private research productivity implies a
substantial return to public investments in basic research.