From academic laboratory to the market: Disclosed and undisclosed narratives of commercialization

This paper examines how the Weizmann Institute of Science has been telling the story of the successful commercialization of a scientific invention, through its corporate communication channels, from the early 1970s to today. The paper aims to shed light on the transformation processes by which intel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social studies of science 2017-02, Vol.47 (1), p.33-52
Main Authors: Sapir, Adi, Oliver, Amalya L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical industry
Commercialization
Communication
Drug abuse
History of medicine and histology
Laboratory tests
Licensing
Markets
Multiple sclerosis
Narratives
Patenting
Pharmaceutical industry
Property
Transformation
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Summary:This paper examines how the Weizmann Institute of Science has been telling the story of the successful commercialization of a scientific invention, through its corporate communication channels, from the early 1970s to today. The paper aims to shed light on the transformation processes by which intellectual-property-based commercialization activities have become widely institutionalized in universities all over the world, and on the complexities, ambiguities and tensions surrounding this transition. We look at the story of the scientific invention of Copolymer-1 at the Weizmann Institute of Science and its licensing to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which subsequently developed the highly successful drug Copaxone for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. We argue that, in its tellings and retellings of the story of Copolymer-1, the Weizmann Institute has created narratives that serve to legitimize the institution of academic patenting in Israel.
ISSN:0306-3127
1460-3659
DOI:10.1177/0306312716667647