This paper uses a study of the factors affecting the location of research in the biomedical industry in Australia to show the complexity of the relationships among the Triple Helix strands – government, industry and universities – in determining research location. Central players, hospitals, are major locations for research but are highly regulated, as is all the medical industry, and depend much on broad public policy determinations about funding which are not directed at research. Changes to the regulatory environment affect research choices players make while technological advance alters the field on which both researchers and firms play.
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