Publications

January 1993 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Medtronic, Inc.

In 1991, Bill George, CEO of Medtronic, the world's largest manufacturer of pacemakers, was evaluating his strategic options in light of the changing economic environment. In the United States, Europe, and Japan, governments were considering regulatory changes to... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

October 1993 (Revised July 1994)
Supplement

A Brush with AIDS (B)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

09 Aug 2016
Blog Post

Startup Balancing Act

said to my coworker, and with that I stepped off the hover board. “Hopefully, you can learn it by the end of the summer” he replied while laughing. I gave him a firm handshake and returned to my desk. My summer internship is at a medical... View Details

Keywords: Health Care

01 Apr 1999
News

A Random Sampling of HBS Graduates in the News

serve recovering cardiac patients and other individuals who may have potential heart problems. Reis, a medical doctor and former emergency-room physician from Israel, explained that a similar service has operated in Israel for some ten... View Details

22 Mar 2016
News

Bill (MBA 1966) and Penny George

answering President Kennedy’s call to give back. He then transitioned to the private sector. “I’ve always been interested in how leadership leads to service,” says George, who served in senior executive positions at Honeywell and Litton Industries before joining... View Details

08 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen on Disrupting Health Care

insurance, drug, retail, and medical device companies; deans of medical schools; and employers, who pay the bulk of health-care costs. All these parties interact in an... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg; Health

01 Mar 2011
News

Wyss Celebrated for Career, Conservation

Hansjörg Wyss (MBA 1965) has been unusually public of late, celebrated for his visionary accomplishments in health care and conservation. Wyss, 75, founded Synthes USA, a Swiss-American firm, in 1974 and led it to global prominence as a pioneer in the development and... View Details

Keywords: Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

01 Dec 2007
News

A View from the Top

chairman of Synthes, a $2.3 billion global medical device company that focuses on surgical implants and tools for fixing broken bones. “My greatest achievement has been to influence young people in a... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Management

Web

Executive Education Courses - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

care as part of their business model Executives from health care insurance companies, government entities that pay for health care, or other payor organizations Leaders from pharmaceutical companies, medical View Details

25 Feb 2025
Blog Post

Making a Broader Impact with Multiple Disciplines: Santosh Iyer (MBA 2020)

experience sparked my lifelong passion for innovation and led me to create Moonshot, a platform that gives high school students hands-on exposure to medical device design. The Rock Summer Fellowship and... View Details

01 Jun 2015
News

The Military and the MBA: Richard Kondo (MBA 1999)

“My most rewarding mission.” —Blending military leadership and private industry best practices Richard Kondo (MBA 1999) served as a US Navy Submarine Officer in Japan and later pursued a medical device... View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; Government

01 Mar 2009
News

A New Approach to Health-Care Reform

executives of provider organizations, as well as hospital, insurance, drug, retail, and medical device companies; deans of medical schools; and employers, who pay the bulk of... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Health, Social Assistance

April 1993 (Revised October 1995)
Case

ALZA and Bio-Electro Systems (A): Technological and Financial Innovation

By: Josh Lerner and Peter Tufano

To develop the next generation of risky products, ALZA, a mature and profitable biotechnology firm specializing in drug delivery systems, must raise $40 million. Organizational constraints and competitive concerns demand that the work be done inside the firm. However,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Business Subsidiaries; Decision Choices and Conditions; Corporate Finance; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

July 2014
Case

BMVSS: Changing Lives through Innovation One Jaipur Limb at a Time (Abridged)

By: Srikant Datar, Saloni Chaturvedi and Caitlin Bowler

Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is an Indian not-for-profit organization engaged in assisting differently-abled persons by providing them with the legendary low-cost prosthesis, the Jaipur Foot, and other mobility-assisting devices, free of cost. Known... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Financial Condition; Health Care and Treatment; Diversity; Growth and Development Strategy; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; India

May 2014 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Vaxess Technologies, Inc.

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In February 2014, Michael Schrader, chief executive of Vaxess Technologies, Inc., was assessing the startup health care company's 2014 marketing plan. On December 31st, 2013, Vaxess had obtained an exclusive license to a series of patents for a silk protein technology... View Details

Keywords: Vaccine; Cold Chain; Antigen; Temperature Controlled; Developing Markets; Immunization; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Global Strategy; Supply Chain; Health; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

October 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Myomo: Getting Sales in Motion

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Shikhar Ghosh and Matthew Preble

In late 2012, the management team of Myomo, a startup which had designed a unique myoelectric arm brace for patients with dysfunctional arms, was deciding which of the three sales models the company had tested to pursue as its sales strategy going forward. Each model... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Business Startups; Sales; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

May 1991
Teaching Note

American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region, Teaching Note

By: Robert L. Simons

Teaching Note for (9-190-078). View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; North and Central America