FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments

Richard G. Hamermesh; James  Weber

Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2013

FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments

Abstract

In mid-2013, as FasterCures celebrated its 10th anniversary as a center of the Milken Institute, Executive Director Margaret Anderson thought about what the organization should do to ensure it had even more impact in its next 10 years. FasterCures was a non-profit "action tank" whose mission was to speed up the process of moving new therapies from discovery to patients in need. Although their annual conference ("Partnering for Cures") to improve how government research was organized was a huge success, Anderson considered refocusing their resources on greater challenges.

For example, current trends in the US showed that investors were increasingly supporting late stage research with higher probabilities of success while funding for riskier early stage research was drying up. Should FasterCures raise money and direct it toward early stage breakthrough therapies? Another issue was the US clinical trial process system. It's complicated, takes a long time, and is very expensive. Should FasterCures reorganize to better understand this issue and make a high-level push to improve it? Or perhaps FasterCures should look at drug reimbursement decisions. Anderson needed to determine where FasterCures should get fully involved, what it should do, and whether it could make a difference.

Keywords: health; health care; health care industry; health care policy; health services; healthcare; healthcare reform; healthcare ventures; nonprofit; non-profit management; not-for-profit; incubator; accelerator; venture philanthropy; medical services; medical solutions; medical research; medical treatment; clinical trials; drug reimbursement; early stage; early stage research funding; early stage funding; Milken Institute; Michael Milken; David Baltimore; Partnering for Cures; National Institutes of Health; Cancer care in the U.S.; Cancer care services; policy-making; Health Care and Treatment; Health; Health Testing and Trials; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Policy; Health Industry; United States; District of Columbia;

Language: English

Format: Print

18 pages

Educators Purchase

Citation:

Hamermesh, Richard G., and James Weber. "FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments." Harvard Business School Case 814-003, October 2013.

Robert Mayhem, a senior manager at International Game Technology, had filed a whistleblower report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company had misstatements in its financial reports. Mayhem’s report involved IGT’s practice of refurbishing used parts in one of its reporting segments and then transferring those parts to another reporting segment. Mayhem indicated that IGT’s method of determining the costs of the refurbished parts was inaccurate and resulted in profits being shifted from one segment to another. Prior to his report to the SEC, Mayhem had reported his concerns to his managers and to the company’s internal compliance hotline. At about the same time, IGT announced that it had accepted an offer to be acquired by another large player in the industry, which would soon move its incorporation out of the U.S. and into the UK. What should IGT do regarding the whistleblower and his report?

Formula E founder and CEO Alejandro Aga obtained the rights to develop a new electric car racing series from the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Agag needed to develop the series from scratch—developing a race car, finding teams willing to race, cities willing to host races, and sponsors, media partners, and investors willing to fund the series. The first race was one year away. How should Agag go about developing this new series?

Faculty & Research

FasterCures: Removing Barriers to Treatments

Abstract

Citation:

About the Author

More from the Author