Publications

01 Feb 1999
News

Too Much of a Good Thing?

years, sectors as diverse as automobiles, semiconductors, steel, textiles, consumer electronics, tires, and pharmaceuticals have been afflicted by overcapacity and some or all of its unpleasant side effects: loss of jobs, plant closings,... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

May 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Biopure Corp.

By: John T. Gourville

It is early 1998 and Biopure Corp., a small biopharmaceutical firm with no sales revenues in its ten-year history, has just received government approval to release Oxyglobin, a revolutionary new "blood substitute" designed to replace the need for donated animal blood... View Details

Keywords: Segmentation; Marketing Strategy; Engineering; Budgets and Budgeting; Sales; Transformation; Markets; Debates; Product Launch; Pharmaceutical Industry

28 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Making the Decision to Franchise (or not)

appears to be true when you get a new type of consumer for the same product." In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, selling medicine to both an independent general practitioner and a hospital will require a different organizational... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

Web

Research - Health Care

UAE for fibroids or adenomyosis were captured from electronic health record timestamps and... May 2024 Article Tepid Uptake of Digital Health Technologies in Clinical Trials by Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Firms By: Caroline Marra... View Details

January 1998 (Revised February 2006)
Background Note

Creating Competitive Advantage

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Jan W. Rivkin

A firm such as Schering-Plough that earns superior, long-run financial returns within its industry is said to enjoy a competitive advantage over its rivals. This note examines the logic of how firms create competitive advantage. It emphasizes two themes: First, to... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Management; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Value Creation; Pharmaceutical Industry

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

22 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Side Effects: The Case of Propecia

You are the marketing director of Propecia, a new drug for hair restoration that's about to hit the market. But the drug can only be purchased via a physician's prescription. So do you advertise directly to balding men? Do you concentrate on targeting physicians? How... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical

William E. Fruhan

Professor WILLIAM E. FRUHAN, JR. is George E. Bates Professor, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He received his BS degree from Yale University, and his MBA and DBA degrees from Harvard University. He has served as Senior Associate Dean and Director of... View Details

Keywords: pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals

September 1990 (Revised November 1991)
Case

Merck & Co., Inc. (B)

In late 1986, Merck revised its performance review and pay practices. The most important change was a shift from an absolute rating system to a forced-distribution system in which managers are forced to adhere to a given distribution of performance ratings. Other major... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Amgen Inc.'s Epogen--Commercializing the First Biotech Blockbuster Drug

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Dennis A. Yao

Amgen Inc.'s Epogen was the first biotech blockbuster drug. Epogen helped prevent anemia, a condition that leads to severe fatigue, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and even death. At the time, the market for Epogen, which included dialysis patients and... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Strategic Planning; Competition; Patents; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

Web

Value Measurement for Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

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 device companies, or other health care... View Details

April 2011 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Cipla 2011

By: Rohit Deshpande, Sandra J. Sucher and Laura Winig

Dr. Yusuf Hamied, head of the Indian pharma and generics manufacturing company Cipla, is weighing options for how to continue to support the global fight against HIV/AIDS while positioning his company for growth in a changing regulatory landscape. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leading Change; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Governance Compliance; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 2006 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Eli Lilly: Developing Cymbalta

By: Elie Ofek and Ron Laufer

Anticipating the expiration of its Prozac patent, Eli Lilly has to make tough decisions regarding the development of its next-generation antidepressant drug. In particular, the company needs to decide whether to first establish that once-a-day dosing for Cymbalta... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Research and Development; Pharmaceutical Industry

01 Jun 2023
News

From Big Pharma to Startup

pharmaceutical giant one day—not creating a company from scratch. But Goble was determined to explore the wide variety of opportunities available to him in his time at HBS, so when he read about a nonprofit life sciences entrepreneurship... View Details

Keywords: April White

Web

Industry Information - Alumni

the business of health. Reports on policy news, research, trends and events in health care. Premium content requires a fee. PharmExec.com The online property of Pharmaceutical Executive magazine, provides feature articles by guest... View Details

08 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Building Effective R&D Capabilities Abroad

capabilities and product portfolio, the company needed a dedicated laboratory site in East Asia. The new site would support efforts to manufacture and market pharmaceuticals by adapting products to local needs. To that end, the management... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

Stephen P. Bradley

Professor Bradley is the William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. In addition to teaching Management and Strategy in the Owner President Management Program and leading an... View Details

Keywords: pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals

November 2016
Case

Transformation at Eli Lilly & Co. (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Faced with the imminent loss of 40% of its revenues due to patent expirations, pharma giant Eli Lilly sets out on a dramatic transformation process in 2009. The case considers how Lilly restructured the organization into business areas to aid better decision-making,... View Details

Keywords: Eli Lilly; Restructuring; R＆D; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Pharmaceutical Industry; Indianapolis