Publications

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

PolyMedica Corporation (B)

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

November 1993 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Molding the Impossible: the NYPRO/Vistakon Disposable Contact Lens Project

By: Clayton M. Christensen

NYPRO, Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of plastic injection-molded products, is asked by the Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson to manufacture molds that Vistakon will use to produce disposable contact lenses. The required dimensional tolerances for... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Engineering; Management Practices and Processes; Product Development; Production; Groups and Teams; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

01 Sep 2015
Blog Post

Building a Startup at HBS

we asked ourselves – could we help do this a better way? While there were existing products on the market, we believed we could create a smaller, less costly device that would better integrate into a nurses’ workflow in the hospital. From... View Details

23 Feb 2023
News

In My Humble Opinion: Hometown Reboot

what Motley calls “the grand plan.” After HBS, he spent two decades working for the chemical, glass, and coatings company PPG Industries, living in eight cities along the way. He finished his corporate career at the Pittsburgh-based View Details

Keywords: April White

04 May 2007
What Do You Think?

How Do Managers Think?

was a suggestion that while managers might have little to learn from doctors about thinking, there might be more important implications for managers in the ways that doctors are trained. Many similarities were observed between the thinking of View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

17 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 17, 2018

for harms caused by defective products may also affect innovation incentives. This paper examines this issue, exploiting a major quasi-exogenous increase in liability risk faced by U.S. suppliers of polymers used to manufacture medical... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

02 Oct 2016
Blog Post

Peek Weekend: The Family Business Cohort

Peek has changed a lot since its founding in 2015! Please visit the Peek website for the most up to date information on dates, registration, and program events. When I was in elementary school my Dad founded Bryan Medical, a small medical... View Details

Web

Student Spotlight: From Nigeria to HBS: Reigniting My Passion for Healthcare Innovation - Blog: Health Supplement

dove into research on medical devices and the social determinants of health. But I quickly realized that while science could solve problems, it was the intersection of healthcare and business that could... View Details

01 Mar 2017
News

Case Study: Moment in the Sun

hospitality. Offices and health care facilities could both offer the company access to huge sectors of the $80 billion lighting market. The Question: Hoskins describes the competitive landscape as “a land grab.” He’d love to do some pilot projects in hospitals and... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell

09 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Overcoming the Challenges of Selling Brand New Technology (Hey, Need a 3-D Printer?)

things like making machine parts and medical implantations. Still, the printers were large, unreliable, and expensive. Starting around 2011 the revolution began. 3-D printers began to shrink, grow in quality, and become considerably less... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies; Medical Devices & Supplies

23 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 23, 2008

hourly wage. The entrepreneurial venture's donors were, however, significantly younger, more likely to be from a minority group, and more likely to have died from cancer. For-profit organizations, continuing medical training... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

AllHerb.com: Evolution of an E-tailer

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Christina L. Darwall

Serial entrepreneur Ken Hakuta, in the second year of his latest venture, reconsiders his original strategy of maintaining an independent, self-funded, self-led company. His Internet herbal remedy company, AllHerb.com, has already enjoyed considerable success with its... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Find at Harvard

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