Spatial Organization Logic and Typology of Shared Pilot-Scale Bases in Biomedicine from an Urban Heterogeneity Perspective: A Multiple-Case Comparison Based on Innovation Clusters in China

Source abstract

Shared pilot-scale bases enhance organizational efficiency and improve the success rate of transformation by leveraging spatial proximity among innovation actors, serving as a critical bridge between laboratory R&D and industrialization in biomedicine. Unlike the dominant models in mature markets such as Europe and the United States, which rely on in-house R&D by leading firms or marketized outsourcing, China has developed a government-guided, regionally adapted model of shared pilot-scale bases. This study refines the classification of innovation actors within innovation ecosystem theory and aims to reveal the spatial agglomeration patterns of these actors within shared pilot-based ecosystems and identify the dominant forces within them. Our analysis reveals that: (1) Shared pilot-scale bases anchor themselves in regions of high innovation concentration, representing government-guided agglomerations of diverse innovation actors. (2) Influenced by variations in local economic foundations, innovation resources, and policies, the innovation networks of shared pilot bases in different cities exhibit both functional and morphological similarities and differences. (3) Strategic placement around leading enterprises can rapidly steer regional innovation gradients and foster industrial aggregation through pilot-scale activities. This study can provide a theoretical basis for spatial policymaking in China’s biomedical industry and offer a typological reference for the layout of pilot-scale platforms within heterogeneous innovation ecosystems globally.