Publications

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

September 2024
Case

Myeloma Investment Fund

By: Kyle Myers and Scott Sawaya

This case explores a critical decision facing the Myeloma Investment Fund (MIF) as it evaluates two investment opportunities aimed at accelerating a cure for multiple myeloma.

The MIF, a venture philanthropy fund, must choose between two distinct paths. One... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biomedical Research; Investing For Impact; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Science-Based Business; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Decision Making; Health Care and Treatment; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

27 Jun 2019
News

Long-Term Investing, Short-Term Thinking

October 2024
Case

Parexel: Scaling Up and Industry Dynamics

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo

Through the lens of biopharmaceutical contract research organization (CRO) PAREXEL, this case traces the evolution of the firm as it reinvents itself in response to the transformation of the CRO sector from a small, secondary cluster of firms into a major player with... View Details

Keywords: Research; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; Transformation; Globalization; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 2024
Teaching Note

Martine Rothblatt and United Therapeutics: A Series of Implausible Dreams

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 323-039. In 1990, satellite expert and Sirius XM founder Martine Rothblatt was determined to save the life of her seven-year-old daughter, Jenesis, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). At... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Organ Donation; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; District of Columbia

2021
Working Paper

Regulatory Approval and Expanded Market Size

By: Benjamin Berger, Amitabh Chandra and Craig Garthwaite

Regulatory review of new medicines is often viewed as a hindrance to innovation by increasing the hurdle to bring products to market. However, a more complete accounting of regulation must also account for its potential market expanding effects through quality... View Details

Keywords: New Medicines; Regulatory Approval; Health Care and Treatment; Research and Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Markets; Expansion; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

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Research Summary

Professor Hiatt’s research is aimed at discovering how institutional factors can affect sector growth and technology development and adoption by mediating and moderating uncertainty. His work encompasses two related research questions:

1) How can... View Details

November 2022
Case

The Battle Among Channels for Marketing Pharmaceuticals: UpScript, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and Direct-to-Consumer Sales

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Tiffany Farrell

Can an online, direct-to-consumer pharmacy both improve the quality and speed of care for patients who need branded drugs and stabilize profits for pharmaceutical manufacturers? UpScript, after years spent achieving legal and regulatory compliance and simultaneous... View Details

Keywords: DTC; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Customer Value and Value Chain; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Strategy; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; Retail Industry

10 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: First Look: October 10

in-depth examination of new product development and launch strategies in the context of the music industry. Provides rich insights into how grassroots and mass-marketing approaches can facilitate new product/artist development. Octone's... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Jan 2024
Blog Post

HBS Alumna Fighting Cancer with a Novel Cell Therapy

originally planned to pursue a Ph.D., but instead spent four years at Catalent Pharma Solutions, a leading pharma/biotech contract manufacturing development organization. Surrounded by potential career paths in the industry, Zutshi... View Details

May 2017
Other Article

Stepwise Distributed Open Innovation Contests for Software Development: Acceleration of Genome-Wide Association Analysis

By: Andrew Hill, Po-Ru Loh, Ragu B. Bharadwaj, Pascal Pons, Jingbo Shang, Eva C. Guinan, Karim R. Lakhani, Iain Kilty and Scott Jelinsky

BACKGROUND: The association of differing genotypes with disease-related phenotypic traits offers great potential to both help identify new therapeutic targets and support stratification of patients who would gain the greatest benefit from specific drug classes.... View Details

Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Genome-wide Association Study; Logistic Regression; Open Innovation; PLINK; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

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Web

Capstone | MBA

Capstone MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences Each student develops a capstone project in their second year of studies that challenges them to perform an in-depth structured scientific and business analysis of a biotechnology opportunity.... View Details

Web

Overview | MBA

uncertainties in affecting these opportunities. Develop approaches to ethical dilemmas bedeviling novel therapeutics, including investment in neglected diseases, the provision of life-saving drugs to... View Details

15 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 15, 2019

December 19, 2018 NEJM Catalyst It's Time to Reform the Orphan Drug Act By: Bagley, Nicholas, Amitabh Chandra, Craig Garthwaite, and Ariel Dora Stern Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

19 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 19, 2017

Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53633 Characterizing the Drug Development Pipeline for Precision Medicines By: Chandra, Amitabh, Craig... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Article

How to Avoid Executive Stress

By: Thomas J. DeLong

When teaching various groups of executives, the author relates the story of a man addicted to prescription drugs and his brother who is addicted to achievement. Each group relates to these two professionally successful men and sees that they live largely on the edge of... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Personal Development and Career; Personal Characteristics; Emotions