Publications

May 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

McKesson

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Natalie Kindred

McKesson, a large, diversified drug distribution and health care IT company, is considering development of new business offerings to help private practice physicians remain independent. The company, with $122 billion in 2010 revenues, just made its first foray into... View Details

Keywords: Health Care Industry; Health Care Policy; Organizational Transformations; Health Services; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Service Operations; Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Policy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

March 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Office of Technology Transfer - Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences

By: Willy Shih, Sen Chai, Kamen Bliznashki and Courtney Hyland

Gordon Zong is trying to teach Chinese universities and research institutes how to do effective technology transfer and IP licensing, but he is trying to do it in an environment with weak property rights and an underdeveloped support infrastructure. As the managing... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Patents; Knowledge Management; Law Enforcement; Business and Government Relations; Research and Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; China

2010
Working Paper

Boundary Spanning in a For-profit Research Lab: An Exploration of the Interface Between Commerce and Academe

By: Christopher C. Liu and Toby E. Stuart

In innovative industries, private-sector companies increasingly are participants in open communities of science and technology. To participate in the system of exchange in such communities, firms often publicly disclose what would otherwise remain private discoveries.... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Higher Education; Information Publishing; Innovation and Invention; Science-Based Business; Social and Collaborative Networks; Boundaries; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Read Now

November 2007
Case

Antegren: A Beacon of Hope

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Thomas J. DeLong and Terence Heymann

The CEO of Biogen Idec faces a set of difficult decisions regarding a promising drug for Multiple Sclerosis that is headed for early approval by the FDA. The first in a series focuses on operational decisions triggered by the drive for early approval. Sparks discussion... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Leadership; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Health Testing and Trials; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Pharmacy Service Improvement at CVS (A)

CVS's retail pharmacy operations are functioning poorly and dissatisfying customers. Many customers are defecting as a result. A pharmacy service improvement team has documented the current prescription fulfillment process, its exception rates, and the problems... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Business Processes; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

January 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Edwin W. Parkinson III

Molecular Insight has developed a novel biopharmaceutical to detect heart attacks. The company's unique approach to intellectual property protection uses the Hatch Waxman Act and the Orphan Drug Act. The company is struggling to raise $7 million in Series B financing.... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

April 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Genzyme Corporation: Strategic Challenges with Ceredase

Genzyme Corp., one of the largest biotechnology companies, has succeeded in developing, manufacturing, and commercializing its first therapeutic, a treatment for a rare genetic disease. Analysis of the case requires students to identify and understand how Genzyme has... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Corporate Strategy; Technology; Health; Product Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

May 1992
Teaching Note

RU 486 (A) and (B), Teaching Note

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Teaching Note for (9-391-050) and (9-391-051). View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; France; Germany; United States

October 1990 (Revised April 1991)
Case

RU 486 (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Describes the factors faced by Roussel UCLAF, a French drug company, in deciding whether and how to market a controversial new drug, RU 486, which is often called "the French abortion pill." Roussel's decision involved its relations with the French government, its... View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Ethics; Product Launch; Negotiation; Outcome or Result; Performance; Business and Government Relations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; France; Germany; United States