Publications

September 2017 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?

By: Ariel D. Stern and Sarah Mehta

In July 2017, Dr. Brian M. Alexander, president and CEO of the AGILE Research Foundation, was preparing to launch a new type of clinical trial—an adaptive platform trial—to study potential therapies for glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer.... View Details

Keywords: Clinical Trials; Cancer; Adaptive Platform Trials; Platform Trials; Adaptive Trials; Glioblastoma; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Business Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Health Industry; United States

September 2019
Supplement

Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? (B)

By: Ariel D. Stern and Sarah Mehta

This case provides an update to the (A) case, which introduces students to adaptive platform trials, an ambitious, more efficient type of clinical trial that increases access to therapies. The (A) case centers on Dr. Brian Alexander’s efforts to launch an adaptive... View Details

Keywords: Clinical Trials; Drug Trials; Drug Testing; Cancer Trials; Glioblastoma; Platform Trials; Adaptive Trials; Adaptive Platform Trials; Health Testing and Trials; Health Care and Treatment; Financing and Loans; Business Strategy; Health Industry; United States

July 2021
Supplement

Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future? (C)

By: Ariel D. Stern and Sarah Mehta

This (C) case provides an update on the work of the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR) and also illustrates how adaptive platform trials can nimbly respond to a global pandemic. View Details

Keywords: Clinical Trials; Drug Trials; Drug Testing; Cancer Trials; Glioblastoma; Platform Trials; Adaptive Trials; Adaptive Platform Trials; Health Testing and Trials; Health Care and Treatment; Business Strategy; Health Industry; United States

September 2020
Case

Minerva 2020: Clinical Trials

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In March 2020, Dr. Cynthia Bamdad, founder and CEO of Minerva Biotechnologies Inc. (Minerva), was reviewing the first results of human clinical trials for the company’s novel CAR-T drug therapeutic, one of the first ever to target solid cancer tumors. The results... View Details

Keywords: Biotechnology; Strategic Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Health Testing and Trials; Decision Choices and Conditions; Strategy

Article

Quantifying the Use of Connected Digital Products in Clinical Research

By: Caroline Marra, Jacqueline L. Chen, Andrea Coravos and Ariel D. Stern

Over recent years, the adoption of connected technologies has grown dramatically, with potential for improving health care delivery, research, and patient experience. Yet, little has been documented about the prevalence and use of connected digital products (e.g.,... View Details

Keywords: Connected Digital Products; Clinical Trials; Health Testing and Trials; Information Technology; Research

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November 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Background Note

A Managerial Perspective on Clinical Trials

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This note describes the history and regulation of clinical trials, managerial challenges related to pharmaceutical product testing, and current debates regarding prescription drug safety. Since clinical testing takes between five and seven years, and consumes up to 70... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Safety; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

June 11, 2021
Article

Addressing Demographic Disparities in Clinical Trials

By: Kathy Giusti, Richard G. Hamermesh and Mark Krasnow

Disparities in health care are not just limited to the delivery of care. They also exist in the way that clinical trials are structured. Women, people of color, and the elderly often are not adequately represented. This article offers three strategies for addressing... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Demographics

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02 Feb 2016
News

HBS Launches Clinical Trials Contest

February 2025
Case

Abiomed: Clinical Trials and Tribulations

By: Satish Tadikonda, Faith Robertson and William Marks

February 2024
Article

Representation and Extrapolation: Evidence from Clinical Trials

By: Marcella Alsan, Maya Durvasula, Harsh Gupta, Joshua Schwartzstein and Heidi L. Williams

This article examines the consequences and causes of low enrollment of Black patients in clinical trials. We develop a simple model of similarity-based extrapolation that predicts that evidence is more relevant for decision-making by physicians and patients when it... View Details

Keywords: Representation; Racial Disparity; Health Testing and Trials; Race; Equality and Inequality; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry

Article

Use of Connected Digital Products in Clinical Research Following the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Analysis of Clinical Trials

By: Caroline Marra, William J. Gordon and Ariel Dora Stern

Objectives: In an effort to mitigate COVID-19 related challenges for clinical research, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued new guidance for the conduct of ‘virtual’ clinical trials in late March 2020. This study documents trends in the use of... View Details

Keywords: Connected Digital Products; Telehealth; Remote Monitoring; Health Testing and Trials; Research; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Information Technology

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Research Summary

Clinical Trials as a setting for Health Policy and Management Research

The clinical trial marketplace is in flux. A decade ago, pharmaceutical firms almost exclusively conducted the study of their novel drug compounds within major academic medical centers. But today, industry-sponsored clinical trials are increasingly using community... View Details

September 2023
Case

THREAD Research: Decentralized Clinical Trials and Beyond

By: Satish Tadikonda, Amanda McEwen and William Marks

August 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Electronic Data Capture and Clinical Trial Management

By: Robert S. Huckman and Mark J. Cotteleer

Considers whether the management of Procter & Gamble (P&G) Pharmaceuticals should adopt Web-based electronic data capture (EDC) as the default standard for the management of its clinical drug trials. Provides a detailed description of the existing paper-based process... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Adoption; Business Processes; Industry Structures; Technological Innovation; Service Operations; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

08 Mar 2018
News

Could a New Business Model Make Clinical Drug Trials More Accessible to Patients?

August 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals: Decision Making in Clinical Trial Design and Operations

By: Satish Tadikonda and Amanda McEwen

The success or failure of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (Dicerna) as an emerging pharmaceutical company would likely hinge on its lead drug candidate Nedosiran and the company’s ability to see it successfully through clinical development. Ralf Rosskamp, Chief Medical... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry

May 2024
Article

Tepid Uptake of Digital Health Technologies in Clinical Trials by Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Firms

By: Caroline Marra and Ariel D. Stern

Digital health technologies (DHTs) can enable more patient-centric therapeutic development by generating evidence that captures how patients feel and function, enabling decentralized trial designs that increase participant inclusivity and convenience, and collecting... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Product Development; Health Testing and Trials; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms