Publications

William Sahlman is a Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Mr. Sahlman received an A.B. degree in Economics from Princeton University (1972), an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1975), and a Ph.D. in Business... View Details

October 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Background Note

Plavix: Drugs in the Age of Personalized Medicine

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Mara G. Aspinall and Rachel Gordon

PIavix, one of the world's best selling drugs in 2010, appears to have a limited future. Its patent was due to expire soon, and recently new data had been discovered that indicated that a small subset of the population would be at risk for stroke, heart attack, or even... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Positioning; Business and Government Relations; Genetics; Competitive Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

WILLIAM (WILLIS) EMMONS is Senior Lecturer and Director of the C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard Business School, a position he has held since 2004. As Director of the Christensen Center, Emmons oversees programs to... View Details

Keywords: pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceuticals

Web

Academics - Health Care

how strategic principles can be applied in health care settings to identify sources of competitive advantage (and all too often, disadvantage). Our emphasis will be on payers and providers, but we will also devote 20-25% of our case... View Details

Web

2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

look like? Fueled by advances in digital technology, will a select few superstars in media and sports come to have a bigger impact on popular culture than they do now, and how will they use their power? Will we see bigger bets on likely blockbusters, more intense View Details

15 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Five Imperatives for Improving Health Care

pharmaceuticals, electronic medical records, and basic research. "We can't just wait for decentralized approaches to come and save us," Huckman says. "At some point we need to go to the large medical centers, group practices, and View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

catastrophic risks to patients, physicians, pharmaceutical firms, and regulators. Between the early 1960s and the present, national systems were built to collect, standardize, and respond to individual reports of side effects, with the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Health Care - Faculty & Research

transformation of Takeda from a Japanese pharmaceutical company with a global footprint into a global company with a Japanese heritage. A 33-year veteran of Takeda, Hasegawa-san was appointed president of Takeda in 2003 and chief... View Details

September 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Cialis Lifecycle Management: Lilly's BPH Dilemma

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

How should Eli Lilly further develop and market a new indication of its highly successful erectile-dysfunction (ED) drug, Cialis, without confusing Cialis's hard-won brand equity with physicians and patients? With the final stages of clinical trials for the new... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Attitudes; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

01 Jun 2024
News

Quantum Leap

of challenges lie ahead. Right now, for instance, qubits are so delicate and prone to error that no one can say, with any certainty, when reliable, all-purpose quantum computers will become a reality. And the competition to bring the... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photographed by Chris Sorensen; quantum computing; innovation; leadership; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

John A. Deighton

John Deighton is The Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He is an authority on consumer behavior and marketing, with a focus on digital and direct marketing. He teaches in the area of Big Data in Marketing,... View Details

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

September 2010 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals: Building Value from the IP Estate

By: Willy C. Shih and Sen Chai

The learning objective of this case is to help students recognize the interplay between intellectual property (IP) rights and corporate strategy. We do this by examining what is a fairly atypical circumstance today in which a single firm is able to secure what it... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Lawsuits and Litigation; Rights; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

February 2024
Case

Compass Pathways: Pioneering Psychedelic Treatment

By: Tiona Zuzul, Kisha Lashley and Gamze Yucaoglu

This case follows Compass Pathways, a pioneering company developing treatment for depression based on psilocybin, the compound found in ‘magic mushrooms.’ Psilocybin was a federally illegal substance in the U.S., and a “Schedule I” drug, defined as a drug “with no... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Product Launch; Health Testing and Trials; Research and Development; Laws and Statutes; Pharmaceutical Industry; Europe; United States; United Kingdom