Publications

September 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Cialis Lifecycle Management: Lilly's BPH Dilemma

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

How should Eli Lilly further develop and market a new indication of its highly successful erectile-dysfunction (ED) drug, Cialis, without confusing Cialis's hard-won brand equity with physicians and patients? With the final stages of clinical trials for the new... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Attitudes; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

July 2009 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Pfizer: Letter from the Chairman (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case explores maximizing shareholder value as a goal in executive decision making. Over a period of nine years, three different Pfizer CEOs make critical decisions intended to increase shareholder value. But the results are disappointing. To allow students to... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Annual Reports; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value Creation; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

May 2002 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Marketing Antidepressants: Prozac and Paxil

By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman

Describes the marketing of Prozac and Paxil, two of the best-selling mental health drugs in history. Set in 2001, several months before the expiration of Prozac's patent, Eli Lilly (Prozac's manufacturer) and GlaxoSmithKline (Paxil's manufacturer) must decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Product Positioning; Competition; Ethics; Value; Health Care and Treatment; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

March 1993
Supplement

Burroughs Wellcome and AZT (C)

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Describes key developments relating to Burroughs Wellcome, AZT and other AIDS drugs, and the AIDS issue in general from late 1989 through 1992. Includes excerpts from Wellcome PLC's financial statements and updated statistics on AIDS in the United States. View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Multinational Firms and Management; Financial Statements; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

12 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 12, 2019

its 150th anniversary? Purchase this case:https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/319046-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 318-005 Dr. William Carson—Intrapreneurial Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry Dr. William Carson, an... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2017
Supplement

Medtronic: Making the Big Leap Forward (B)

By: William W. George and Monica Baraldi

On December 1, 2014, Medtronic announced that it had completed a $17 billion bond sale to finance the Covidien acquisition, officially completed on January 26, 2015. Medtronic’s legal headquarters moved to Ireland, while its operational headquarters remained in... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Medtronic; Covidien; Mission; Tax Inversion; Business Strategy; Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Pharmaceutical Industry; Republic of Ireland; Europe; Minnesota; United States

August 2022
Article

Availability of New Medicines in the U.S. and Germany From 2004 to 2018

By: Katharina Blankart, Huseyin Naci and Amitabh Chandra

Importance: Germany's unique approach to coverage determination and pricing has ensured that effective medicines remain on the market, often at prices reduced through negotiation. However, less is known about trade-offs of this approach with regard to initial... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Price; Market Timing; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Germany

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02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers

with their mega-deals, you can exploit that fact to improve your own competitive position. For instance, while pharmaceutical players such as Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham have made headlines with their merger news, one large... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Fariborz Ghadar

26 Jul 2016
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of the Entry of Biosimilars: Evidence from Europe

Keywords: by Fiona Scott Morton, Ariel Dora Stern, and Scott Stern; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical

01 Feb 2002
News

Telling the Electronic Century's Unfinished Story

and pharmaceutical industries. But the differences between those pairs of sectors were just too great. So the second book will examine this question: Why were the Japanese chemical and pharmaceutical... View Details

Keywords: Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

October 2006
Teaching Note

Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc. (TN) (A) and (B) (LCA)

By: Lynn S. Paine

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Industry; Argentina

01 Sep 2008
News

Mara Aspinall

that personalized medicine brings. This is particularly important in fast-moving diseases, where the window for a positive outcome is small. What aspects of their business model do pharmaceutical companies need to redesign to hasten the... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

01 Dec 2003
News

The Next Big Thing

life-sciences center of the world, by virtue of its unsurpassed “cluster” of world-renowned universities and teaching hospitals; medical-device, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies; financial firms; and skilled workers. “The leadership... View Details

Keywords: life sciences; Scientific Research and Development Services

24 Jul 2014
Op-Ed

Reform Tax Law to Keep US Firms at Home

Editor's Note. Given a veritable flood over the last year of corporate "inversions"—US companies that reincoporate in other countries to take advantage of favorable tax rates and business regulations—lawmakers in Washington D.C. are debating how to respond.... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai; Pharmaceutical

March 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Gilead Mexico

By: Michael Chu and V. Kasturi Rangan

With a breakthrough cure for Hepatitis C listing in the U.S. at $1,000/pill, Gilead must now solve the issue of making it available to patients across the world, much as it did for its blockbuster HIV/AIDS antiretrovirals. For Erik Musalem, the new general manager of... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Price; Strategy; Management; Pharmaceutical Industry; Mexico

August 2024
Article

How Do Copayment Coupons Affect Branded Drug Prices and Quantities Purchased?

By: Leemore S. Dafny, Kate Ho and Edward Kong

Drug copayment coupons to reduce patient cost-sharing have become nearly ubiquitous for high-priced brand-name prescription drugs. Medicare bans such coupons on the grounds that they are kickbacks that induce utilization, but they are commonly used by... View Details

Keywords: Prescription Drugs; Coupons; Impact; Health Care and Treatment; Markets; Price; Spending; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

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September 2010
Teaching Note

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate (TN)

By: Willy C. Shih

Teaching Note for 611009. View Details

Keywords: Value; Patents; Corporate Strategy; Competition; Research and Development; Lawsuits and Litigation; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

December 2008 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Amylin Pharmaceuticals: Diabetes and Beyond (A)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Rachel Gordon

Ginger Graham, CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, joined the company with the expectation of taking the company's signature drug, Symlin, to market. However, unforeseen regulatory challenges have put the approval process in jeopardy. At the same time, the company has a... View Details

Keywords: Regulations; Drug Regulations; Symlin; Negotiation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Resource Allocation; Negotiation Deal; Product Development; Research and Development; Commercialization; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States