A New Model for the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Institute of OneWorld Health

Synopsis:

This case introduces the Institute of OneWorld Health, a company dedicated to producing drugs for neglected diseases and the first non-profit pharmaceutical company in the world. Founded in 2000 by Dr. Victoria Hale, IOWH took expired and donated patent compounds and developed them through all the stages of clinical testing and approval into drugs to fight the world's most destructive diseases, usually occurring in Third World countries where perceived profitable markets did not yet exist. By 2004 IOWH was at the stage of presenting its first Phase 3 Clinical Trial results for Paromomycin, a drug developed for Visceral Leishmaniasis which kills as many as 200,000 people each year in India, Bangladesh, Sudan, Brazil, and Nepal. Its next task was to form partnerships with other organizations to manufacture and distribute the drug; the case focuses on Dr. Hale's strategy for IOWH going forward, with particular reference to its core competencies and mission. The case encourges students to consider other models with similar aims and to observe how social entrepreneurs such as Dr. Hale endeavour to overcome the market failures that exist for basic health care in the world's least developed countries.

Title: A New Model for the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Institute of OneWorld Health

Author(s): Mair, J. and Schoen, O.

Reference No: DG-1480-E

No. of pages: 33

Year of publication: 2005

Geographical location: United States

Keywords: Innovation; Social Entrepreneurship; Social Responsibility; Leadership; Strategy

Complementary materials: Teaching note: DGT-49-E 

This case study is available from IESE Business School:

http://www.iesep.com/(S(vzlpnxz4x2gp4f451ojog4ns))/fichaProducto.aspx?sigla=DG-1480-E