This paper investigates the key driving features of the evolving long-term division of innovative labor in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals from 1981 to 2012. Our main goal is to find if technological trajectories and mechanisms discovered by Orsenigo et al. (Res Policy 30(3): 485–508, 2001) as the main drivers of the structural configuration of the network of collaborative alliances have been at work in the long-term evolution of the industry. We extensively analyze the evolving dynamics of the degree distribution and the higher order properties of the R&D network. As in Orsenigo et al. (Res Policy 30(3): 485–508, 2001), we find that polarization through preferential attachment driven by large pharmaceutical companies as Developers and by the entry of new specialized biotechnology companies acting as Originators of new R&D opportunities dominated the early stages of the biotechnology revolution. Later on the evolution of the collaborative network has been shaped by roles’ transitions between Originators and Developers of innovative ideas. Against this background, we introduce parsimonious model of network formation and evolution is introduced, to account for some essential features of the data generating processes underlying the evolution of the network.

本文研究了从1981年到2012年生物技术和制药业不断发展的创新分工的关键驱动特征。我们的主要目标是确定Orsenigo等人是否发现了技术轨迹和机制。（Res Policy 30（3）：485-508，2001）作为合作联盟网络结构配置的主要驱动力，一直在行业的长期发展中发挥作用。我们广泛地分析了研发网络的程度分布和高阶特性的发展动态。如在Orsenigo等人中。（Res Policy 30（3）：485–508，2001），我们发现极化是由大型制药公司作为开发者以及作为新R＆R发起者的新专业生物技术公司的进入而产生的优先依附关系 D机会主导了生物技术革命的早期阶段。后来，协作网络的发展受到创新思想的发起者和开发者之间角色转换的影响。在这种背景下，我们引入了网络形成和演化的简约模型，以说明网络演化背后的数据生成过程的一些基本特征。