Despite severe market turmoil, in 2001, the biopharmaceutical research contract organization (CRO) Parexel is bucking the calls to cut costs by conducting expensive globalization and the IT strategy. Under the leadership of founder and CEO Josef von Rickenbach, over the past 20 years, Parexel made some bold investments based on a vision of the future dynamics of the industry and the demand from the customers. Indeed, over the sometimes bumpy journey from opportunistic Parexel two people venture into a global company is valued at $ 1 billion, Rickenbach willingness to take calculated risks has kept it at the forefront of the industry CRO. Now, despite a slowdown in demand for CRO services, and against the advice of some analysts, Parexel is betting that the global opportunities and technology services will be its key competitive advantage in the decade. This case traces the evolution of the CRO sector in small, medium firms in the cluster, a major player with significant opportunities for global development of drugs. Context of the growth of CROs, "says the event that the conversion biopharmaceutical industry since the mid-1970s to 2001, including the rising cost and complexity of drug development and the extremely slow pace of IT adoption in clinical trials." Hide
by Regina E. Herzlinger, Natalie Kindred Source: Harvard Business School 21 pages. Publication Date: June 30, 2011. Prod. #: 311068-PDF-ENG
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