Emerging Australian Biotechnology Companies: Globalizing or Just Playing?

Abstract

The biotechnology industry is seen as one of the most globalized. It is also an industry dominated by SMEs in most countries. It would be expected then that these biotechnology SMEs themselves would be global in their focus. It is the intent of this research to understand the globalization issues that are encouraging biotechnology companies to go global, whether these companies really are truly global companies, and if not, at which stage of the globalization process these companies are operating. The study is undertaken using secondary quantitative data on all the publicly listed biotechnology companies in Australia that have undertaken some form of internationalization, based on 2003/4 annual reports. The main conclusion from the research is Australian biotechnology companies are still in an immature stage of development in the globalization process. The companies' market strategies are directed at profitable countries and regions, such as the USA and Europe. This neglects other markets that are more accessible and can provide much needed early income streams. The internationalization effort of Australian biotechnology companies is only partial and could not be considered to be a true globalization effort.