Government Strategies and Commercial Models: the Politics of the Global Stem Cell Bioeconomy
Abstract
Stem cell science and its potential commercial applications form part of the global bioeconomy of the life sciences where countries compete for national advantage. In working to enhance their global competitive position, states may introduce a range of policies to support and develop stem cell science such as investment in basic and translational science, strategic coordination of the science, public-private partnerships between science and industry, regulation to maintain public trust, and intellectual property legislation to increase venture capital confidence and investment. They may also seek to influence international agreements, conventions and legislation as a means for protecting and enhancing their global advantage.
Precisely what strategy, if any, is adopted depends not only on a government's understanding of the stem cell science market relationship but also on its response to the local and regional factors that may influence and shape that relationship. These factors include the economic (for example, the regional structure of financial markets and the venture capital industry), the cultural (for example, the value attached to the embryo in human embryonic stem cell research by different national cultures) and the political (for example, the role of regional government and international agreements). In assessing whether and how to position themselves in the global bioeconomy, states must respond to these factors as they construct their policies of stem cell commercialisation.
In this context, the aim of the Fellowship is to draw on the resources, networks and empirical material of the ESRC's 'Global politics of human embryonic stem cell science' project to develop the fellow's interdisciplinary theoretical capacity and skills with regard to the contribution of the state to the politics of the global stem cell bioeconomy. Within this, building on her previous work, the fellow's objectives are:
1. to review the perspectives on the role of the state in the global bioeconomy of stem cell science provided by science and technology studies, cultural studies, political economy and political science
2. to establish where interdisciplinary linkages may be forged between these perspectives and construct an overarching theory
3. to test out the theoretical innovation through formal and informal interaction with relevant academic and practitioner partners
4. to engage with policy makers to reflect on the implications of this theory building for the Pattison Report policy on UK stem cell science and its commercial application
5. to develop and refine these areas for further study through the design of a project proposal.
In the first instance the review of relevant material and construction of the theory will be conducted through the use of library, internet and project data sources. Thereafter, its development and refinement will be tested through interaction with networks of academics, scientists and industrialists specifically recruited for the project. The interaction will employ telephone and e-mail contact supplemented by a seminar to which representatives from the three networks will be invited. Finally, the policy relevance and use of the theory will be tested at a workshop with political actors drawn from the stem cell policy process.
The programme of work will be undertaken in the Global Biopolitics Research Group in the Institute of Health at the University of East Anglia. The primary mentor for the fellow will be the Director of the Group, Professor Brian Salter, who will be supported by Dr Catherine Waldby of the University of Sidney , a co-applicant for the 'Global politics of human embryonic stem cell science' project. In addition, the fellow will work closely with Amanda Dickins (senior research associate on the 'Global politics' project) and Dr Melinda Cooper (postdoctoral fellow in the Global Biopolitics Research Group).
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http://www.york.ac.uk/res/sci/posters/harveyfellowship.pdf
Global Biopolitics Poster for the London Technology Network meeting Sept 2006 - here - pdf