Abstract: Innovation in the life sciences is rapid, accelerating, and often life-changing. Industry and academic scientists are generating new algorithms to prioritize, direct, and personalize care; developing new antibiotics to kill drug-resistant superbugs; and finding ways to treat long-ignored “orphan diseases”. These types of innovation, among others, have been considered in a growing literature evaluating innovation policy. Works in this literature typically point out failures of traditional innovation tools—especially patents, and sometimes trade secrecy—with respect to a specific frontier of life-science innovation. Each specific form of innovation is typically considered in isolation, leading to a disconnected patchwork of identified problems and policy suggestions. This speech will summarize and categorize these various efforts. In that categorization, it both reveals larger structural issues for innovation in the life sciences and issues a call to action for further scholarship and analysis on the intersection of these domain-specific innovation failures.

Each year the OIPRC hosts a number of leading academics from around the world as part of its Invited Speaker Series. These events typically run from 5:15-6:45pm on Thursday evenings at St. Peter’s College; if the venue or time is different, it will be noted on the Events calendar. The Speaker Series consists of a presentation of about 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A session with the assembled group of academic staff, students (both undergraduate and graduate), researchers, and interested members of the public. Discussion is informal and includes participants from several disciplines, with a wide range of prior knowledge. Refreshments and snacks are served at the conclusion of the discussion. All are welcome. This year’s schedule evolves throughout the year, but a 2016 - 2017 listing is available here: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/events?type=All&theme=All&series=1017&start[value][date]=01-10-2016