Describe at least two strategies by which pharmaceutical companies might price new products.

Department of Business Administration
Comprehensive Examination
In your courses you have studied the following core areas of management:
Finance/Accounting
Marketing
International Business
Ethics
Microcomputer Applications
Strategy
Law
Human Resources
This comprehensive exam is designed as a review of these subjects. As you complete the exam you should be aware that there is no one “right” answer (except in the case of calculations based on financial data). Rather, you should focus on supporting your analysis with facts and information provided in the case as well as additional evidence that you find in business/management journals, company annual reports and Web sites, and other such available databases that you choose to use.

The Case
The case that will serve as the centerpiece for your comprehensive examination is published by Harvard Business School Press and is entitled, “The Pharmaceutical Industry in the 1990s.” Case is in attached files. The Harvard Business School publishing site is http://hbr.org.

Case Analysis Tips
Read the Pharmaceutical Industry case once to get an understanding of the industry, the companies, the products, and the company strategies. Read it again, taking more detailed notes as they apply to the specific disciplines listed above. Read it a third time to find evidence to support your analysis and responses to the questions.
Comprehensive Exam Questions
Strategy.
Describe the value chain in the pharmaceutical industry.
Put together a SWOT Analysis. Analyze results and report findings.
Perform an environmental scan. Analyze results and report findings.
Construct a Porter’s Model. Analyze. Report findings. Where does the power reside in these relationships?
Identify existing trends and industry dynamics.
Hypothesize trends that will occur in the future for this industry.

2. Marketing.
Characterize the pharmaceutical market.
Identify the consumer(s). What factors influence consumer purchasing?
Explain market segmentation as it pertains to the pharmaceutical industry.
Describe at least two strategies by which pharmaceutical companies might price new products.
Explain the role of branding in the pharmaceutical marketplace.
Discuss the new product development process with respect to pharmaceuticals.

3. Law/Ethics/International Business.
Identify major pieces of legislation that govern the pharmaceutical industry.
Explain the regulatory framework with respect to drug development.
Bring this case up to the current environment (2017). Discuss the current legal environment.
What ethical dilemmas arise in this case? Explain.
Identify any international implications.

4. Accounting/Finance.
Perform a time series analysis for percentage growth and margins.
Identify trends.
Generate hypotheses to explain trends, supporting assertions with data.
Assuming only organic growth, develop a methodology to estimate Fiscal Year 1996 sales for Glaxo-Wellcome. Document your other assumptions.
Discuss how you might value a pharmaceutical company discussed in the case.

5. General Management/Human Resources.
Comment on the corporate culture that might exist at a pharmaceutical company.
What motivation theories (use two or three) might explain the scientists’ interest in working for a pharmaceutical company? Explain your answer.
Explain the role of leadership in a pharmaceutical company.
Be sure to properly cite any information, statistics, and quotes that you use in preparing your exam. Failure to do so will result in a failing grade on the exam.

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