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January 2018
Case

Spark Therapeutics: Pioneering Gene Therapy

By: Robert F. Higgins and Tina Liu

Spark Therapeutics is a pioneering gene therapy startup. It was spun out of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The company had taken with it much of the intellectual property and talent that CHOP had developed. The company is considering an initial public... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Business Startups; Opportunities; Problems and Challenges; Strategy

June 2023
Case

Verve Therapeutics: Taking DNA Editing to Heart

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

Verve Therapeutics, a public biotech company based in Boston, created a novel approach to addressing cardiovascular disease (CVD) - a leading cause of deaths globally. The company's approach was a single shot treatment to permanently lower cholesterol, thus reducing... View Details

Keywords: AI; Genetic Engineering; Medicine; Health Care and Treatment; Genetics; Innovation Strategy; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Medical Specialties; Innovation and Invention; Entrepreneurship; Biotechnology Industry

October 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

The CRISPR-Cas9 Quarrel

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew G. Preble

In mid-2016, the Broad Institute and the University of California, Berkeley were in the middle of a contentious patent dispute over which entity controlled a breakthrough gene editing technology called CRISPR-Cas9. With CRISPR-Cas9, scientists might soon be able to... View Details

Keywords: CRISPR; Broad Institute; University Of California Berkeley; Intellectual Property; Patents; Law; Lawsuits and Litigation; Science; Genetics; Entrepreneurship; Biotechnology Industry; United States

April 2023
Case

Drive Capital: A New Road for Venture

By: Paul A. Gompers and Alicia Dadlani

Founded by two former Sequoia Capital partners, Columbus-Ohio-based Drive Capital’s mission was to build a world-class venture capital firm in the middle of the U.S., an area historically overlooked by VCs. Drive faced early challenges of attracting investors, sourcing... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; Ohio

September 2020 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Moderna (A)

By: Marco Iansiti, Karim R. Lakhani, Hannah Mayer and Kerry Herman

In summer 2020, Stephane Bancel, CEO of biotech firm Moderna, faces several challenges as his company races to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. The case explores how a company builds a digital organization, and leverages artificial intelligence and other digital... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Vaccine; Digital Organizations; Organizational Structure; Operations; Management; Health Pandemics; Research and Development; Goals and Objectives

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

Genomics: Can We Start Making Money Now?

predict a new world where drug treatments are customized to an individual's genetic makeup, and gene-based therapy can root out cancer and other diseases before they take hold in the body. The new science will "revolutionize the way... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

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; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry