Publications

February 2020
Teaching Note

Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A) and (B)

By: Nien-he Hsieh and Christina R. Wing

Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 619-039 and 320-091. View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Lawsuits and Litigation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; California; United States

February 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Neurotrack and the Alzheimer's Puzzle

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Liz Kind and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Elli Kaplan founded Neurotrack in 2012 with a breakthrough noninvasive cognitive diagnostics test that will detect Alzheimer's disease in its earliest pre-symptomatic stages. While the company has gained great traction in the three years since it was started, with no... View Details

Keywords: Alzheimer's Disease; Diagnostics; Healthcare; Entrepreneurship; Health Disorders; Science-Based Business; Business Model; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

November 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

PerkinElmer Developing Products in China for China

By: Vicki Sato, Christoph Jaeker and Kareem Reda

Keywords: Product Development; Developing Countries and Economies; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; China

October 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Becton Dickinson: Opportunities and Challenges on the Road to the 'Envisioned Future'

By: Michael Beer and Russell A. Eisenstat

The case depicts a mission and values driven firm, how it was turned around, and its unique strategy of enabling others to succeed. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

June 2009
Teaching Note

Stryker Corporation: In-sourcing PCBs (TN)

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Teaching Note for [207121]. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Capital Budgeting; Valuation; Investment Return; Mathematical Methods; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

July 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Teaching Note

MedSource Technologies (TN)

By: Robert S. Huckman

Teaching Note to (9-603-081). View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

March 2004 (Revised May 2006)
Teaching Note

PolyMedica Corporation (A), (B), and (C) TN

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

Teaching Note to (9-104-023), (9-104-031), and (9-104-032). View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

November 2003 (Revised December 2007)
Supplement

Circle Gastroenterology Products (B)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and James Weber

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Marketing Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

August 2002 (Revised July 2003)
Case

LAE Enterprises Corp.

Jay Entrepreneur had to decide whether it was worth his time to plow through a 12-page term sheet for a Series A round of preferred stock prepared by HBS Investors, a well-established venture capital firm that did seed, early-round, and mezzanine financings. He could... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Contracts; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

February 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Inhale Therapeutics: Executing and Growing the Business Model

Inhale is about to bring a novel technology to market that uses inhalation to administer drugs that formerly required injection. Inhale must now decide which way to evolve its business model. This will determine the future direction of growth for the company. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Technological Innovation; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Find at Harvard

September 2001 (Revised April 2005)
Case

ePhysician

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Grady Clouse and Gayathri Koundinya

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Supplement

Circon (C)

By: Brian J. Hall, Guhan Subramanian and Christopher A Rose

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Governance; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

January 2000 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Asia Renal Care

Presents a business plan for a start-up company focused on building a network of high-quality dialysis centers in the Asia-Pacific region. Includes a detailed financial forecast. An executable spreadsheet is available by contacting HBSP Customer Service at... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Startups; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Asia

May 1998
Teaching Note

ArthroCare TN

Teaching Note for (9-898-056). View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

December 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Disruptive Technology a Heartbeat Away: Ecton, Inc.

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Edward G Cape

Describes an innovating start-up company with a disruptive technology to the large, expensive echocardiography machines that leading cardiologists use to create images of heart functions for diagnostic purposes. Ecton's machine is small, cheap, portable, and can't... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Disruption; Machinery and Machining; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Marketing; Product; Commercialization; Technology; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

April 1998
Case

Becton Dickinson: Worldwide Blood Collection Team (Abridged)

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Becton Dickinson's Vacutainer business was largely based in the United States, but in 1980 management determined to grow the business aggressively first in Europe and then Japan. These areas demanded new products that were tailored to local markets. Despite the change... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Growth and Development Strategy; Change Management; Product Development; Global Strategy; Expansion; Innovation and Invention; Multinational Firms and Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; Europe; Japan

March 1997 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Hospital Equipment Corporation

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Rory McDonald

Hospital Equipment Corp. is a very successful maker of hospital beds. Due to outstanding performance in new product development, it grew to dominate its primary market and is searching for other opportunities to grow through new product development. It discovers that... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Management; Opportunities; Business Processes; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Expansion; Markets; Problems and Challenges; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

April 1977
Teaching Note

Insight Optical Equipment Co., Teaching Note

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry