Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(636)
- Faculty Publications (173)
- November 2009 (Revised December 2009)
- Case
GTC Biotherapeutics: Developing Medicines in the Milk of Goats
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Sarah Morton
GTC is the first company in the animal world to receive FDA approval of a transgenic pharmaceutical. What are the implications for other firms in plants and animals and their opportunities to produce new medicines in an economical and safe fashion? View Details
- April 2009
- Case
Merck: Managing Vioxx (A)
By: Robert L. Simons, Kathryn Rosenberg and Natalie Kindred
This two-class case series allows students to stand in the shoes of CEO Ray Gilmartin during the unfolding stages of a reputational crisis. Merck's mission statement claims to "put patients first," but the company is widely criticized for putting profit before patient... View Details
- April 2009 (Revised April 2009)
- Case
Immusol and Novartis
By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Keyne M. Monson, Juan D. Betancourt and Victor Li
Should Immusol strive to become a fully integrated pharmaceutical company? How should a small pharmaceutical company structure a deal for its novel technology with the giant Novartis? View Details
- February 2009 (Revised December 2009)
- Case
Merck: Global Health and Access to Medicines
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee
The case describes the effort of Merck, a global leader in pharmaceuticals, in making available its medicines to the poor. The challenge for the company (or for that matter, any pharmaceutical company) is how to integrate its business strategy with its corporate social... View Details
- December 2008 (Revised October 2013)
- Case
Amylin Pharmaceuticals: Diabetes and Beyond (A)
By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Rachel Gordon
Ginger Graham, CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, joined the company with the expectation of taking the company's signature drug, Symlin, to market. However, unforeseen regulatory challenges have put the approval process in jeopardy. At the same time, the company has a... View Details
- December 2008 (Revised April 2010)
- Case
Proteus Biomedical: Making Pigs Fly
By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Lauren Barley and Ginger Graham
Proteus is a healthcare start-up that has developed technology to embed electronics for computing and sensing in existing medical devices and drugs. The technology could potentially change the basis of competition in the pharmaceutical industry. The company is... View Details
- March 2008
- Case
Novartis AG: Science-Based Business
By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington
Novartis is a science-based drug company, which has important implications for its business strategy. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with over $38B in sales in 2007. Pharmaceuticals account for slightly over $24B of that total. In 2007,... View Details
- 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
- November 2007
- Supplement
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.
By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu
How do companies develop a strategy that is both low-cost and differentiated without becoming squeezed in the middle? Describes how Teva, Israel's largest and first multinational, achieved its globally dominant position in generic pharmaceuticals, an industry that has... View Details
- September 2007 (Revised December 2008)
- Case
Michael Fernandes at Nicholas Piramal
By: Michel Anteby and Nitin Nohria
Michael Fernandes, the Director of Custom Manufacturing Operations at the pharmaceutical company Nicholas Piramal India Limited (NPIL), schedules a meeting with three of his reports, whose interpersonal conflicts with one another are causing his business development... View Details
- September 2007
- Article
Investigative Negotiation
By: Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman
This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. Negotiators often fail to achieve results because they channel too much effort into... View Details
- May 2007 (Revised September 2008)
- Case
Biocon Limited
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Ananth Chepuri
Biocon Limited was facing significant pricing pressure in their cash cow business, that primarily consisted of manufacturing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). To combat this commoditization, Biocon's leadership had chosen an innovation-led strategy. This new... View Details
- November 2006 (Revised May 2025)
- Case
Eli Lilly: Developing Cymbalta
By: Elie Ofek and Ron Laufer
Anticipating the expiration of its Prozac patent, Eli Lilly has to make tough decisions regarding the development of its next-generation antidepressant drug. In particular, the company needs to decide whether to first establish that once-a-day dosing for Cymbalta... View Details
- September 2006 (Revised March 2010)
- Case
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd
By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Claudine Deborah Madras
How do companies develop a strategy that is both low-cost and differentiated without becoming squeezed in the middle? Describes how Teva, Israel's first and largest multinational, achieved its globally dominant position in generic pharmaceuticals, an industry that has... View Details
- January 2006 (Revised July 2006)
- Case
Drug Testing in Nigeria (A)
By: Debora L. Spar
In 1996, a meningitis epidemic swept across Nigeria. Thousands of children were struck and, lacking appropriate medicine, were liable to die from the disease. Doctors at Pfizer had an antibiotic that could probably save most of these children's lives. The drug was new,... View Details
- December 2005 (Revised August 2006)
- Case
Amgen Inc.'s Epogen--Commercializing the First Biotech Blockbuster Drug
By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Dennis A. Yao
Amgen Inc.'s Epogen was the first biotech blockbuster drug. Epogen helped prevent anemia, a condition that leads to severe fatigue, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and even death. At the time, the market for Epogen, which included dialysis patients and... View Details
- September 2005 (Revised June 2006)
- Case
WuXi PharmaTech
By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Simin Zhou
WuXi Pharmatech has gone from zero to $21 million in sales in three years. The company must decide its growth strategy and how best to finance and organize for rapid growth. View Details
- February 2005 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
Rx Depot: Importing Drugs from Canada
By: Debora L. Spar
In 2002, a handful of entrepreneurs began to ship drugs from Canada into the United States, taking advantage of regulatory and price differentials across the neighboring countries. Using the Internet and a low-cost network of Canadian pharmacies, firms like Rx Depot... View Details
- 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
- July 2004 (Revised May 2005)
- Case
Pfizer's Virtual CIO (Abridged)
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey
Discusses the IT organization and IT strategy issues facing Pfizer, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Managing over $1 billion of IT expense, the company has a committee approach for handling all critical IT decisions, an approach that is consistent... View Details