Rapid advances in the life sciences means that there is now a far more detailed understanding of biological systems on the cellular, molecular and genetic levels. Sited at the intersection between the life sciences, the engineering sciences and the design sciences, innovations in the biomaterials industry are expected to garner increasing attention and play a key role in future development. This book examines the biomaterials innovations taking place in corporations and in academic research settings today.Biomaterials Innovation offers a comprehensive overview of life science innovation and presents empirical research in the field of biomaterials innovation. Alexander Styhre examines innovation management practices in the field of biomaterials development and explains institutional changes in the biomaterials industry. The demand for accomplishing biocompatibility between the human body and the materials developed is highlighted, as is the relationship between financial markets and biomaterials companies. Finally, the author discusses the therapeutic, regulatory and managerial implications of biomaterials innovation.

Biomaterials Innovation will be required reading for any researcher, policy-maker or student interested in innovation management, the life sciences and the development of health care therapies.

Contents: 1. Life and Materiality, Nature and Artifice: Transgressing the Divide 2. Bios, Materiality, and Biomateriality 3. Innovation Management and Innovation in the Life Sciences 4. Shifting Institutional Logics in Biomaterial Companies 5. The Epistemology of Biomaterials: How Biomaterials Become Embodied 6. Financing Biomaterials Innovation: Selling Science in Venture Capital Markets 7. Biomaterials Innovation: Re-creating the Human Body Appendix: Methodology of the Studies Bibliography Index