In order to have a full understanding of the arena of scientific technological innovation in general, and of biotechnology in particular, we have to place the role of basic research conducted in universities in context. Recent literature on national systems of innovation depicts intensive scientific collaborations between universities, industrial organizations, and government agencies (Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff 2000; Etzkowitz et al. 2000), and argues that university research may increasingly function as a locus of national knowledge-intensive networks. In addition, Hicks and Katz (1997) found that research in general is becoming more interdisciplinary and that research is increasingly conducted more in networks, both domestic and international.

At the same time, research on structural and procedural changes within universities raises the issue of the “second revolution” of universities. “The first academic revolution was the transformation of universities from institutions of cultural preservation to institutions for the creation of new knowledge. Putting that knowledge into use followed soon after. The second academic revolution was the translation of research into products and into new enterprises” (Etzkowitz & Webster 1998). This “second revolution” is based on large funding from the pharmaceutical industry, or smaller but more extensive precompetitive and contract research collaboration that industry and academia share.

These interinstitutional collaborations are coupled with the growth of commercialization of academic science and the translation of research findings into intellectual property (patents) – a marketable commodity (Djerassi 1993; Etzkowitz 1998; Etzkowitz & Webster 1998; Kleinman 1998; Lee 1996; Packer & Webster 1996).