Regional systems of biotechnology innovation — The case of Taiwan

•Regional innovation systems (RIS) has become a key priority for policy makers in many advanced countries and regions.•The importance of this RIS concept would also be expected to contribute to newly industrialized countries and developing economies.•In this study, Nankang RIS of new drug developments, Hsinchu RIS of medical electronics, and Sothern Taiwan RIS of medical devices are studied.•As more and more organizations within the regional cluster interact with other actors outside the region, previous literature scaracely address the interactions between different clusters.•This study also investigate the issue of cross-RIS interactions.

Regional innovation system (RIS) has become a key priority for policy makers in many advanced countries and regions. RIS, as a concept, has also been shown to be relevant and applicable to newly industrialized countries and developing economies. Nevertheless, very few studies discuss the issue based on the context of these countries. Thus, the study selects three biotechnology regional innovation systems in Taiwan, a representative of newly industrialized countries, as research subjects. In this research, Nankang RIS of new drug developments, Hsinchu RIS of medical electronics, and Sothern Taiwan RIS of medical devices are studied. Additionally, as more and more organizations within the regional cluster interact with other actors outside the region, previous literatures scarcely address the interactions between different clusters. Consequently, this study also investigates the issue of cross-RIS interactions.