Interpreting the global bio-economy

Abstract

THIS BOOK IS AN INSIGHTFUL and theoretically ambitious anthropological study of the genomics and biotech industries in the United States and India. These and related science-based sectors form part of the bio-economy, a larger complex of manufacturing, service, and research and development (R&D) activities, grounded increasingly in advancements in the biological sciences. In his groundbreaking study, Kaushik Sunder Rajan seeks to explain the intersection between biological knowledge ? the new knowledge of life itself ? and the economic accumulation process in which large pharmaceutical firms are dominant actors. The most striking manifestation of the bio-economy is the emergence of thousands of small biotechnology and other science-intensive start-up firms. These populate areas close to major universities in the developed parts of the world ? in California, Massachusetts, the Cambridge region in the United Kingdom, and elsewhere ? but have emerged also in some centres in developing countries. This is described in Sunder Rajan?s empirical analysis which investigates the global evolution of the bio-economy, with a particular focus on India and California. He explains the interdependencies between giant pharmaceutical companies and small dedicated biotechnology firms, which operate in conjunction with a myriad of intermediaries, such as venture capitalist firms that provide funding for promising science and facilitate interaction between different bio-economic actors.