[Collaboration with universities and innovate activity in the Spanish pharmaceutical industry (2003-2005)]

This article examines, on the one hand, the impact of the cooperation between universities and industry on the performance of innovative activities conducted by pharmaceutical firms in Spain and, on the other hand, the article assesses the impact of universities as a source of information for the innovative activities of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry.

Data were drawn from the panel of technological innovation, based on the innovation surveys from 2003 to 2005. The survey included 132 pharmaceutical firms and information was available on the firms' innovative outputs (four indicators), cooperation with universities, and the firms' assessment of the importance of universities as an information source for innovative activities. Firm size, R&D expenditures and the use of biotechnology were used as control variables.

The impact of cooperation with universities was found to be positive and significant (p > 0.01). Moreover, the results show a positive impact of both the use of biotechnology and the use of universities as a source of information on firms' innovative performance (p < 0.01).

Pharmaceutical firms that cooperate with universities are more likely to apply for patents and to be granted them. Moreover, the share of sales from new products is larger among firms that have cooperated with universities than among those that have not.