The protagonists of the case are CEO Kenneth Frazier and Roger Perlmutter, president of research, as they contemplate the future in light of multiple internal challenges and a difficult external environment of Merck. Overall, the pharmaceutical industry faces the risk of patent expirations, belittling a brutal economic climate, regulatory laws that are unfavorable, raising competition, and new drug breakthroughs. With its new drug pipeline running dry, Merck accepted that the biotech industry is overly complex in order for it to navigate alone.
It was generating only 1 percent of the biomedical research on the planet, as it stood. A large number of new ideas were emerging all over the world, both inside as well as beyond the firm. Should an innovation strategy that is open is pursued by Merck? If so, how? Another issue the case deals with is carrying out corporate strategy via acquisitions of smaller biotech firms such as Merck's recent acquisition of Idenix.
PUBLICATION DATE: January 14, 2016 PRODUCT #: MH0035-PDF-ENG
This is just an excerpt. This case is about INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
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