Oral Insulin: Breakthrough Innovation at Biocon

By Anand Nandkumar, Charles Dhanaraj, Nita Sachan
July 2011

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www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=51441

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Nandkumar, Anand., Charles Dhanaraj., Nita Sachan. Oral Insulin: Breakthrough Innovation at Biocon - Case#9B11MO65 www.iveycases.com/ProductView.aspx?id=51441.

2011

Abstract

Issues: Management of innovation; Technology commercialization; Technology licensing; Research and development (R&D); Technology entrepreneurship; Emerging markets Disciplines: General Management/Strategy, Management Science, Operations Management, International, Entrepreneurship Industries: Health Care Services Setting: India, Large, 2010 This case deals with the innovation challenges of a medium sized firm (under $1 billion) in an emerging economy (India), particularly the challenges of product development and commercialization. The management has to decide how to proceed with a promising novel formula for oral insulin - a promising therapeutic area both in terms of financial returns as well as social impact. The company had spent several years of R&D in getting the drug through Phase I and Phase II trials, and was entering the most critical stage, Phase III. The case is set in 2009, a period that was punctuated with a lot of economic uncertainty. Students are asked to decide if Biocon should go ahead with Phase III, and if so, whether it should be done locally or globally and with a partner or alone. The case also deals with transitioning research and development strategies in emerging markets, wherein firms that have traditionally focused on imitation' (or generic drugs) are moving to high risk drug discovery.

Anand Nandkumar is an Associate Professor of Strategy, Executive Director of SRITNE at the Indian School of Business (ISB), and Associate Dean of the Centre for Learning and Teaching Excellence. He explores industry and firm-level phenomena that influence innovation - the generation of new ideas, and entrepreneurship - distribution and commercialisation of new ideas. His research focuses on high-technology industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and software, and it falls in between industrial organisation (IO), economics of technological change, and strategy.

Professor Nandkumar’s current work in the innovation stream examines the effect of stronger intellectual property rights (IPR) on different aspects of innovation, such as the influence of stronger patents on long run incentives for innovation or the influence of stronger patents on the functioning of Markets for Technology (MFT). In the entrepreneurship stream, his current work examines the influence of venture capitalists on entrepreneurial performance.

Professor Nandkumar graduated with a PhD in Public Policy and Management, with a focus in strategy and entrepreneurship from Carnegie Mellon University in 2008. Prior to his PhD, he worked for 3 years with a startup in Silicon Valley, and prior to that, in New York City with one of the world’s largest financial services firms.

True to his expertise, at ISB, Professor Nandkumar teaches Strategic Innovation Management and Strategic Challenges for Innovation-based startups.

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