Publications

30 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 30, 2007

Changing Context of Pharmaceutical Risk Mitigation Author:Arthur A. Daemmrich Periodical:Pharmacy in History 49, no. 2 (2007): 61-75 Abstract In the wake of Vioxx, Avandia, and other recent prominent cases of drugs found to cause side... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Oct 2016
First Look

October 25, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51759 forthcoming American Economic Journal: Economic Policy When Discounts Raise Costs: The Effect of Copay Coupons on Generic Utilization By: Dafny, Leemore S., Christopher Ody, and Matt Schmitt Abstract—Branded View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Aug 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courageous Leader Triggers a Moral Revolt of CEOs Against Trump

actions was not without risk for the CEOs and their companies” While many CEOs prefer to stay under the radar and avoid public scrutiny, Ken Frazier led the way with his example. As the chair of PhRMA, the pharmaceutical manufacturers... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

20 May 2013
Op-Ed

Making America an Industrial Powerhouse Again

talent pool in the US biomedical field that is second to none. And the only way to get that talent is for companies-both domestic and foreign-to do their R&D here. That's why pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies from around the... View Details

Keywords: by Gary Pisano; Manufacturing

08 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, August 8, 2017

School Case 415-013 Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp: Redefining Success in the U.S. (A) Over the course of a tumultuous weekend in April 2010, André Wyss was put in charge of Novartis Pharmaceuticals... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 1985 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Puritan Drug Co.

David Thomas takes his first sales management assignment and is faced with a sales rep revolt because of a possible territory reorganization. In addition, his sales division is performing well below the national average. Rewritten version of a case by R.Z. Sorenson. View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Conflict and Resolution; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2013 (Revised November 2021)
Module Note

Exploration vs. Exploitation

By: Willy Shih

This module note introduces James March's concept of exploration and exploitation, and the management challenge of balancing the allocation of resources to the two activities in the firm. The note also touches on the O'Reilly and Tushman paper on the ambidextrous... View Details

15 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

A Better Business Model for Fighting Cancer

iPhoto With billions of dollars spent on the development of precision medicine and related cancer research over the last decade, a recent partnership seeks a new way to bring these treatments to patients more quickly: through a better business model. Founded in... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical

2000
Chapter

Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

By: S. Thomke and A. Nimgade

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Industry

1996
Chapter

Eli Lilly and Company: Drug Development Strategy

By: S. Thomke, A. Nimgade and P. Pospisil

Keywords: Product Development; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

January 1994
Case

Evolving Finance Function: Judy C. Lewent at Merck & Co., Inc.

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

This case examines the career path of Merck's CFO, Judy C. Lewent, as a way of tracing changes over time in Merck's finance function. It describes the adoption of innovative quantitative analytical models, changes in job definitions and in the organization of the... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Mathematical Methods; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Design; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry

January 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Gavi and the 'Next' Pandemic

By: Tarun Khanna and Kerry Herman

In 2025, CEO Dr. Sania Nishtar and her team consider the lessons the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunizations (GAVI) learned from the pandemic. GAVI successfully brought COVID-19 vaccines to large swaths of the undeveloped and under-developed world by pooling... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Success; Innovation and Invention; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Pharmaceutical Industry; Africa

September 2024
Article

Comprehensive Measurement of Biopharmaceutical R&D Investment

By: Amitabh Chandra, John Drum, Michael Daly, Henry Mirsberger, Samuel Spare, Ulrich Neumann, Silas Martin and Noam Kirson

Keywords: Research and Development; Investment; Pharmaceutical Industry

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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April 2023
Case

Elliott Management: Capital Allocation in Biopharma

By: Amitabh Chandra, Paul Clancy and Lauren Gunasti

The case explores the intersection of capital allocation and shareholder activism in the biopharmaceutical industry. As many biopharma companies face looming patent expirations for key medicines, the case asks the question of whether investing in R&D and M&A is an... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Strategy; Capital Allocation; Biopharmaceutical Industry; Shareholder Activism; Investment Activism; Resource Allocation; Research and Development; Business and Shareholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

October 2020
Teaching Plan

Merck: COVID-19 Vaccines

By: Willy C. Shih

COVID-19 infections were still climbing across the U.S. and many other parts of the world in September 2020, and it seemed that every time Ken Frazier, the CEO of Merck & Co. consented to an interview in recent months he always seemed to hear the same question,... View Details

Keywords: Vaccines; Health Pandemics; Health Testing and Trials; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Research and Development; Business Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

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