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Since the 1990s, the distinction between the pharmaceutical industry and the biotech industry has blurred, creating what we can now call the biopharmaceutical industry. How and why did this happen, and where is the industry going now? Traditionally, pharmaceutical companies worked with plant- and chemical-based compounds, manufacturing drugs through chemical synthesis. Biotech companies, in contrast, sprung up starting in the 1970s and 1980s, when scientists began working on developing therapies manufactured in or extracted from living organisms such as bacteria, yeast, and mammalian and plant cells. These therapies, known as biologics, have been described as one of the "most sophisticated and elegant achievements of modern science," offering powerful therapeutic options for many diseases where previously no treatments, or only treatments of limited efficacy, were available. Biologics have included innovative therapies in rheumatology, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology, oncology, endocrinology, and other medical fields. In 2016, seven of the top ten best-selling drugs in the world were biologics. This note describes the biopharmaceutical industry, encompassing both older, larger "pharma" companies such as Pfizer, Merck, Roche or GSK, and younger biotech companies. It looks at the difference between traditional pharmaceuticals and biologics, the drug approval process, R&D, intellectual property issues, financial issues including fundraising, regulatory issues, and ethical issues.

Focuses on Joint Juice, a start-up in the new-age beverage category. The company has a patented formula for producing a glucosamine beverage, the only one on the market. (Glucosamine is a nutritional supplement believed to help rejuvenate joints and treat arthritis.) The company has made slow progress in its initial phase, but as the case ends, it has an opportunity to go national with two of the nation's largest grocery chains.

In March 2002, the five partners of Adams Capital Management (ACM), a venture capital firm investing in information technology telecommunications with $700 million under management, gathered to discuss whether they should change their strategy in view of the prolonged downturn in both the economy and their targeted investment sectors. Since its founding in 1993, ACM had followed a distinct strategy of targeting particular markets of interest, investing within these, and managing the portfolio companies through a defined process to liquidity. ACM's first fund had performed extremely well; its second was looking good; and the third, albeit only a year into its life, was not performing as well. ACM is considering three options: investing in companies producing more fundamental products, hiring more associates or investing in more markets, or taking bigger positions in companies in its traditional sectors. Each has its own possibilities and drawbacks. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Supplements the (A) case.

Describes the progress of a nonprofit organization, Endeavor, focused on nurturing entrepreneurship in emerging markets. At the time of the case, it has successfully expanded to five Latin American countries and is contemplating the next phase in its growth. Specifically, it must decide how quickly and to which countries/regions to expand. In addition, the organization has been successful in raising money at the local level to support its country affiliates, but has had more issues related to raising the funding for its operations in New York. Thus, a key question is which funding model to use to support these headquarters operations. Includes a good deal of information regarding the prevalence of entrepreneurship in various countries, as well as economic data on a great variety of countries. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Zipcar is a start-up organized around the idea of "sharing" car usage via a membership organization. This case describes several iterations of the Zipcar business model and financial plan. These iterations include a very early version and a version developed just prior to the launch of the business, as well as data from the first few months of operations. Students are called on to analyze the underlying economics and business model for the venture and to discover how these assumptions are holding up as the business is actually rolled out.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 803096.

Covers the origin, evolution, and nature of the KIPP Academies, two high-performing public middle schools founded in 1995 by Michael Feinberg and David Levin in Houston and New York. In January 2000, Feinberg and Levin meet with Scott Hamilton, managing director of the Pisces Foundation, to discuss the possible national replication of the KIPP school model. In addition to covering the wisdom and nature of a possible expansion strategy, they need to assess their common understanding of the essential attributes of the KIPP school program. Covers in detail the history of Feinberg and Levin's efforts to open their schools and the characteristics of their mature schools.

Kalin Pentcheve, a recent U.S. immigrant from Bulgaria, starts a business importing Bulgarian feta cheese in bulk and selling it in the United States. Pentcheve has no previous experience in either the import/export business or the food industry. Deals with finding opportunity, using a network of existing contacts and developing new contacts, scraping together money from friends, family, and others to finance a venture, evolving a sales strategy by trying different "channels," and learning by doing. To position early in a new ventures course.

Looks at two MBA classmates who are considering launching their own new venture. Discusses the process of identifying and confronting both the attractive aspects and the worrisome uncertainties involved in a start up. Allows for development and discussion of alternative strategies for dealing with the risks. Gives students an opportunity to choose a path, defend their decision, identify their assumptions and how they will test them, and indicate what they will do if their assumptions prove false.

Describes how a corporate entrepreneur shapes an internal growth venture within the company, mobilizes the resources that are needed to implement the venture, and achieves success. Complementing his entrepreneurial behavior, however, is the support that he receives from several senior managers in the firm. Allows a careful examination of the challenges for corporate entrepreneurship in a large multinational firm and the roles that senior executives have to play to support it.

VimpelCom is a Russian cellular operator that grew in less than 10 years (1992-2002) from a hypothetical concept, to small family-like company, to $2 billion NYSE-quoted corporation with 5.5 million subscribers on its wireless networks. This case study describes the perfect partnership between the two founders. One was the professor,Dr. Dimitry Zimin, formerly a department head at the Applied Radio Research Institute, and a cog in the Soviet machine. The other was Augie Fabela II, a very young, yet experienced, American entrepreneur. The case looks at their complementary leadership styles. It also tells the story of how they managed to capture a majority share of the market in Moscow and bring their company to the New York Stock Exchange.

Jim Sharpe, 10 years after receiving his MBA from Harvard and working for others, has finally become his own boss and 100% owner of manufacturer of aluminum extrusions. After 10 months of an unfunded search, he acquires the business in an LBO and prepares to face his employees on the first day.

Covers the evolution of the Gates Foundation's multibillion dollar effort to influence reform in the U.S. public education system since 1999, particularly the foundation's recent decision to invest heavily in the breakup of existing urban high schools and the creation of new small high schools. Examines the merits of that strategy and various implementation issues associated with it. Tom Vander Ark, who oversees the foundation's education initiative, prepares for a meeting with Bill Gates in which he will review the foundation's track record and propose targeting future investments on small high school reform. For background and context, the case covers the contemporary small schools movement in the United States and the consolidation of high schools and districts in the United States since 2000.

It was long believed that entrepreneurship in Russia is close to impossible without government or mafia connections. This case study argues that, on the contrary, garage-type entrepreneurship is possible in Russia. For the Russians at Frontstep, the company in this case study, however, there were no how-to manuals to turn to. When the employees started making demands for Western-level salaries and benefits, matters came to a head. The problem was solved as the founders developed a hybrid organization, with Western incentives and structures, and Russian corporate culture.

It was long believed that entrepreneurship in Russia is close to impossible without government or mafia connections. This case study argues that, on the contrary, garage-type entrepreneurship is possible in Russia. For the Russians at Frontstep, the company in this case study, however, there were no how-to manuals to turn to. When the employees started making demands for Western-level salaries and benefits, matters came to a head. The problem was solved as the founders developed a hybrid organization, with Western incentives and structures, and Russian corporate culture.

Frontier Adventure Racing is a relatively young company that is facing some significant financial issues. The company president, owner and organizer of Canada's most well-recognized series of adventure races (Raid the North), is passionate and knowledgeable about the sport of adventure racing. Also, as the captain of Canada's top adventure racing team, his profile has loaned credibility to his own company and has heightened media coverage of its races. The company has great products, a solid international reputation among adventure racers and good name recognition in the field. Even so, the company is up against some serious financial hurdles, having made little or no profit four years in a row. The Sports Network and The Outdoor Life Network have offered two hours of television coverage for the company's next race and half of the ad spots during the show if Frontier Adventure Racing is willing to pay the production costs. This kind of coverage would boost the company's visibility, but where could the company come up with the funding? Already faced with the problem of finding new sponsors, a bill for sponsorship, and a need for TV production costs over and above the normal cash requirements, the president knows the situation is difficult at best, and wonders what possible options are available to him.

Track Concealers Company Ltd. produced valances to cover the tracks above bifold doors. When the company received a large order from a U.S. building retailer, the owner needed to quickly secure capital to fund the production commitment. Although he was able to acquire the needed financial backing through his family, the owner was uncomfortable with this arrangement. He was determined to acquire independent short-term and long-term capital for his company within six months.

It's well known that many executives who excel at starting businesses or projects fizzle out--in other words, they fail to "scale"--as their ventures grow. But the reasons have remained fuzzy. In this article, leadership coach John Hamm identifies four management tendencies that work for small-company or business-unit leaders but become Achilles' heels as those individuals try to run larger organizations. The first tendency is loyalty to comrades. In entrepreneurial mode, you need to lead as though you're in charge of a combat unit on the wrong side of enemy lines. But blind loyalty can become a liability in managing a complex organization. The second tendency, task orientation, is critical in driving toward a big product launch, but excessive attention to detail can cause a large organization to lose sight of its long-term goals. The third tendency, single-mindedness, is important in a visionary unleashing a revolutionary product or service on the world but can limit the company's potential as it grows. And the fourth tendency, working in isolation, is fine for the brilliant scientist focused on an ingenious idea. But it's disastrous for a leader whose expanding organization increasingly relies on many other people. Leaders who scale deal honestly with problems and quickly weed out nonperformers. They see past distractions and establish strategic priorities. They learn how to deal effectively with diverse employees, customers, and external constituencies. And, most important, they make the company's continuing health and welfare their top concern.

As a startup in the online sales incentives industry, SalesDriver had a unique product to offer: online sales contests. From its early stages, SalesDriver had a great product, e-tailer relationships and initial customers who were pleased with the service. What SalesDriver needed was personnel. SalesDriver's two co-founders were facing several challenges. They were both young and making their first independent leap into the dot-com industry. With limited funding and no hiring experience, they needed to put together a staff for their company and wanted to do so within a two-week time frame. Their first need was to hire a vice-president of sales, but their candidate of preference had 15 other job offers on his plate, so time was of the essence. How much should they offer? What incentives should they include? What kind of fit would they have as a working team and would they even have enough time to assess that fit? The two friends and business partners were faced with the difficult challenge of working out a winning offer that would persuade the right person to accept a position in their very young company.