Publications

05 Jan 2011
Op-Ed

Funding Unpredictability Around Stem-Cell Research Inflicts Heavy Cost on Scientific Progress

In light of the latest developments of the on-again, off-again, on-again government funding of human embryonic stem-cell research, it is time to consider the devastating implications of this chaotic funding environment. And to do that, one needs to understand how a... View Details

Keywords: by William Sahlman; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical

01 Jun 2009
Lessons from the Classroom

The Challenges of Investing in Science-Based Innovation

In economic downtimes, businesses are apt to cut R&D projects that don't promise a speedy return on investment. But take a cue from smart science-based businesses, which view the recession as an opportunity to stoke up research and innovation for long-term... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical

02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers

with their mega-deals, you can exploit that fact to improve your own competitive position. For instance, while pharmaceutical players such as Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham have made headlines with their merger news, one large... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Fariborz Ghadar

01 Mar 2012
News

Capitalism’s New Agenda

hundreds of millions of rural poor into the market system (as China Mobile did by bringing mobile phone service to the Chinese countryside), that brought medicine where it had been unaffordable (which the Indian pharmaceutical firm Cipla... View Details

Keywords: Joseph L. Bower, Herman B. Leonard, and Lynn S. Paine; social activism; Occupy Wallstreet; Corporate Services; Finance

September 2019
Case

Dementia Discovery Fund

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Kathy Giusti and Sarah Gulick

The case is set in March 2019, and tells the story of the founding of the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF). The idea for the fund began in 2015, when then-Prime Minister David Cameron spoke about the importance of making breakthroughs in dementia research, and pledged... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment Funds; Mission and Purpose; Recruitment; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Boston; Massachusetts; London; England

December 1999 (Revised February 2001)
Case

CVS: The Web Strategy

By: John A. Deighton and Anjali C. Shah

How should America's second-largest pharmacy chain respond to the challenge from online drugstores? What threat does the web pose to bricks and mortar distribution of prescription drugs and the other items that make up 50% of a drugstore's sales? This case describes... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Service Operations; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

01 Sep 2010
News

Fair Trade

pharmaceuticals and software, and far above the average of all industries. Many apparent paradoxes add to the puzzle posed by the industry. While rarely considered fundamentally “bad,” such as the trade in narcotics or tobacco, the beauty... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Chemical Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Health and Personal Care Stores; Retail Trade

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

How Relationships are Building Biotech

on biotech companies in terms of securing resources. And if the top executives had a career background at a pharmaceutical and/or healthcare company—the companies considered "downstream" to biotech—so much the better. The IPO is... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Mallory Stark

01 Apr 1999
News

Q & A: Confronting New Technologies: When Doing Right Is Wrong

industries or certain segments of the pharmaceutical business. But in many other industries - financial services, education, and health care, for instance - this analytical model is proving extremely helpful in understanding what is... View Details

07 Jul 2016
Blog Post

Can You Learn Finance through the Case Method?

Greetings from HBS! My name is Siri and I am a second-year student and a candidate for the joint MBA/MPP program between HBS and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Before graduate school, I worked for three years as a management consultant specializing in the... View Details

02 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

Ray A. Goldberg

is the blurring of agriculture and pharmaceuticals limited to seeds and plants. Animals are being turned into drug-manufacturing facilities" as well. Thus, Goldberg says, bioengineering may some day lead to animals whose milk, for... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Agriculture & Agribusiness

14 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 14

addresses a decision to replace salesmen netbook PCs with iPhones, including converting the company's sales and customer applications to the iPhone platform. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/911413-PDF-ENG Hikma View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2024
Supplement

Accounting Red Flags or Red Herrings at Catalent? (B)

By: Joseph Pacelli, ZeSean Ali and Tom Quinn

GlassHouse Research identified accounting red flags at Catalent. Fiat Lux Partners countered most of GlassHouse’s claims. Who was right? This update explores the aftermath of the short seller duel. View Details

March 2023
Case

Moderna

By: Marco Iansiti, Karim R. Lakhani, Hannah Mayer, Kerry Herman, Allison J. Wigen and Dave Habeeb

This multimedia case follows the story of Moderna and its entry into vaccine development in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In summer 2020, Stephane Bancel, CEO of biotech firm Moderna, faces several challenges as his company races to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Research and Development; Digital Transformation; Health Testing and Trials; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

March 2022
Teaching Note

Digital Manufacturing at Amgen

By: Shane Greenstein, Kyle R. Myers and Sarah Mehta

This teaching note provides guidance for instructors teaching “Digital Manufacturing at Amgen,” case no. 621-008. View Details

February 2021
Case

Digital Manufacturing at Amgen

By: Shane Greenstein, Kyle R. Myers and Sarah Mehta

This case discusses efforts made by biotechnology (biotech) company Amgen to introduce digital technologies into its manufacturing processes. Doing so is complicated by the fact that the process for manufacturing biologics—or therapeutics made from living cells—is... View Details