Coping with uncertainty: entrepreneurial sensemaking in regenerative medicine venturing

Overcoming the "valleys of death" in advanced therapies: The role of finance

Advanced therapies are the frontier of medical research and have a relevant therapeutic potential and a profound social value. Despite this, their funding is hindered by many heterogeneous factors that obstruct their translation and survival on the market, even when approved and effective. Using an extensive bibliometric and systematic review of 174 articles published between 2001 and 2023, this study aims to identify the factors hindering the financing of advanced therapies and suggest future research lines to overcome the biomedical and economic "valleys of death". This study is the first review focused on advanced therapies from a financial perspective, and it contributes to advancing scientific knowledge in several ways. First, it highlights that finance academics paid little attention to the topic and most of their contributions are now outdated; therefore, there is the need to explore the new opportunities and solutions offered by financial innovation and the application of new technologies to financial activity. Second, it asks for an interdisciplinary approach to exploring advanced therapies' barriers from a holistic and process perspective and exploiting the social value generated by the development of innovative therapies. Finally, it analyzes the obstacles and value destroyed by the absence of an organic and coordinated process of public intervention, underscoring the imperative for further research to explore new public-private financial models and risk-sharing schemes and extend evaluation models by integrating financial and social value logic.

Entrepreneurship-driven organizational transformation for sustainability: a sensemaking lens

Purpose

This paper adopts a sensemaking lens to explore the process of entrepreneurship-driven organizational transformation for sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis is based on an in-depth case study of a large European meat company. Sensemaking by top and middle managers is analyzed over the period of 18 months.

Findings

The findings show how, over time, bidirectional sensemaking, that is, sensemaking for and of sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship, directed and accelerated organizational transformation for sustainability. The case company transformed with regard to organizational strategy, structure, operations and identity. The process revealed temporally different involvement of top and middle managers in sensemaking.

Originality/value

This paper offers unique insights into fast and emergent sustainability-oriented change in an established organization within a highly topical context. The results highlight how continuous and increasingly shared sensemaking can help top and middle managers navigate organizational change for sustainability in dynamic environments over time.

Regenerative Medicine Venturing at the University-Industry Boundary: Implications for Institutions, Entrepreneurs, and Industry

Regenerative medicine research at university laboratories has outpaced commercial activity. Legal, regulatory, funding, technological, and operational uncertainty have slowed market entry of regenerative medicine treatments. As a result, commercial development has often been led by entrepreneurial ventures rather than large biopharma firms. Translating regenerative medicine across the university-industry boundary links academic scientists, technology transfer organizations, funders, and entrepreneurs. Conflicting motivations among the participants may significantly hinder these efforts. Unproven downstream business models for regenerative medicine delivery further complicate the entrepreneurial process. This chapter explores the challenges associated with entrepreneurial activity commercializing regenerative medicine science developed at research institutions.