Publications

2003
Case

Corning Microarray Technologies

By: Vijay Govindarajan, Chris Trimble and Gautam Bellur

In mid-2000, the scientific community reached a momentous milestone—the complete mapping of the human genome. Researchers in the field of genomics were anxious to dig into a tremendous array of newly possible scientific inquiries, and needed efficient experimental... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Genetics; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry

October – December 1998
Article

The Evidence Does Not Speak for Itself: Expert Witnesses and the Organization of DNA Typing Companies

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Keywords: Genetics; Business Ventures

December 2012
Teaching Note

Gene Patents (A) (TN)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew Preble

This is the teaching note for case Gene Patents (A). In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our... View Details

Keywords: Biotech; Human Genome; Patents; Genetics; Biotechnology Industry; United States

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

Genomics: Can We Start Making Money Now?

drugs, and will they be less expensive?' My answer is, 'I don't know, and probably not.' Lechleiter was one of several panelists to discuss, "Breaking the Genetic Code: The Business of Life Science in the 21st Century" at the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

1997
Chapter

Patent Scope and Emerging Industries: Biotechnology, Software, and Beyond

By: Josh Lerner and Robert P. Merges

Keywords: Patents; Applications and Software; Genetics; Information Technology Industry; Biotechnology Industry

September 2000
Case

Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute (A)

Steve Briggs, a PhD biologist, is asked to propose a strategy to take global life-science giant Novartis into the rapidly expanding field of plant genomics. View Details

Keywords: Design; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Genetics; Infrastructure; Biotechnology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

June 2003 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Schering-Plough and Genome Therapeutics: Discovering an Asthma Gene

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Marc Aquino

Personalized medicine requires the identification of mutated genes. Schering-Plough's search for the one related to asthma requires finding families with the disease. Examines the industry that helps conduct such research, including contract research organizations. View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Research and Development; Genetics; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

25 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

How Disruptive Innovation is Remaking the University

against the same criteria applied to his or her predecessor. The way things are done is determined not by individual preference but by institutional procedure written into the genetic code. There is evolution in the university, though its... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen & Henry J. Eyring; Education

February 2008 (Revised August 2008)
Case

EXACT Sciences Corp.: Commercializing a Diagnostic Test

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

This case addresses the challenges of commercializing molecular diagnostics. Along the way, it explains the technology, payment system, and the measures used to assess the value of a diagnostic test. View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Genetics; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Biotechnology Industry

November 1999
Case

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (B)

DuPont must decide whether to launch a new non-GM (genetically modified) soybean that is tolerant to chemical sprays. In the face of rapid introductions of GM products by competitors, DuPont faces the challenge of ensuring the identity preservation of its new product... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Genetics; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

07 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

The Business of Biotech

cells in cancer patients) generated more than $2 billion in sales last year. Millennium Pharmaceuticals: Alan Crane (photo: Shelly R. Harrison) As the ability to analyze a patient's genetic material is developed, however, many believe... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Biotechnology; Health; Technology

15 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

A Better Business Model for Fighting Cancer

question—it’s clear.” Simply put, inefficiencies in the development of precision medicine can best be addressed by a business-analysis approach. With the mapping of the human genome completed 15 years ago, the sci-fi concept of using a cancer patient’s View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health; Pharmaceutical

February 2024
Article

Are Many Sex/Gender Differences Really Power Differences?

By: Adam D. Galinsky, Aurora Turek, Grusha Agarwal, Eric M. Anicich, Derek D. Rucker, Hannah Riley Bowles, Nira Liberman, Chloe Levin and Joe C Magee

This research addresses the long-standing debate about the determinants of sex/gender differences. Evolutionary theorists trace many sex/gender differences back to natural selection and sex-specific adaptations. Sociocultural and biosocial theorists, in contrast,... View Details

Keywords: Gender; Genetics; Power and Influence; Social Issues

Read Now

June 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Background Note

Note on the Convergence Between Genomics & Information Technology

By: David B. Yoffie, Dharmesh M Mehta and Rachel Sha

Focuses on the convergence between the genomics and semiconductor industries, in particular organ printing, DNA computing, biomolecular sensory networks, and DNA microarrays. Explains what this newly converged world looks like based on current research and findings in... View Details

Keywords: Genetics; Information Technology; Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Biotechnology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

June 2011 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Gene Patents (A)

By: Richard Hamermesh, David Kiron and Phillip Andrews

In March 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet overturned 30 years of legal precedent and ruled that unaltered human genes could not be patented. This case reviews patent law and how it relates to our increasing knowledge of the Human Genome. The case issues... View Details

Keywords: Courts and Trials; Patents; Genetics; Judgments; Science-Based Business; Biotechnology Industry; United States

15 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 15

Pooled Income Funds. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/product/choosing-a-charitable-giving-vehicle/an/314073-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 514-086 23andMe: Genetic Testing for Consumers (A) On November 22, 2013, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2020
Case

Breakthroughs at Blueprint Medicines

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Kathy Giusti and Susie L. Ma

Precision medicine company Blueprint Medicines was building a successful track record for bringing drug therapies to market 40% faster than average. The company had spent $40 million dollars and two years building a compound library that became its drug development... View Details

Keywords: Precision Medicine; Cancer; Biotechnology; Drug Development; Strategy; Expansion; Science; Genetics; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Management; Growth and Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Cambridge; Massachusetts