個案總覽

Venture capitalist William Doyle must raise $35 million for a portfolio company with a promising, novel cancer therapy, just as global capital markets are imploding in the fall of 2008. NovoCure, Ltd., has developed an electrical-field-based therapy, called Tumor Treating fields, for the treatment of cancerous tumors. The therapy has shown significant efficacy with no side effects after five years of testing in human patients. Doyle believes NovoCure has the potential to become an important company with a major new cancer therapy platform, but must complete pivotal (Phase III) clinical trials and receive FDA approval. Doyle's venture capital firm, WFD Ventures, has invested $25 million in three rounds to fund pilot clinical trials for glioblastoma and other non-small cell lung cancer, and the first pivotal clinical trial for glioblastoma. Additional financing is needed to proceed with the strategically important second pivotal trial. In the fall of 2008 Doyle was negotiating the final terms of an investment by two prominent hedge funds when the liquidity crisis caused the hedge funds to withdraw from the transaction. Doyle must now reevaluate his options for securing the needed financing for this promising young company.

"ZINK Imaging" describes the issues confronting CEO Wendy Caswell as she uses a partnership model to commercialize ZINK's disruptive printing technology platform, ZINK Paper. The case focuses on the frameworks ZINK has used to decide which markets to target and which business partners to choose. Caswell contemplates changes to the partnership model in an effort to speed product introduction to manage the company's burn rate and reach profitability. The context for the case is the company's imminent need to raise an additional $25 million.

Describes Star's experiment with gain sharing over a three-year period. Background on the industry and company's history are provided to establish the context for the shift to pay-for-performance. Describes the three different gain sharing programs, the resulting payouts, and organizational impact.